Cubic ton

Cubic ton

A Cubic ton is a measure of volume (compare fluid ounce). It is no longer used in the United Kingdom but seems to be still in use in the USA, see "definitions" below.

Contents

Definitions

A mass-derived unit of volume must be defined by reference to the density of some material. In the case of the fluid ounce, this is water. For the cubic ton, the situation is more complex—there are different cubic tons for different materials.

The Reader's Digest Great Encyclopaedic Dictionary gives the following ton-derived volumes:

  • Timber, 40 cubic feet
  • Stone, 16 cubic feet
  • Salt, 42 bushels
  • Lime, 40 bushels
  • Coke, 28 bushels
  • Wheat, 20 bushels

Defining a cubic ton presents some difficulties because:

  • It is uncertain whether the above figures are based on the long ton or the short ton
  • Organic materials, such as timber, vary in density

The nearest thing to a standard cubic ton seems to be the "timber" cubic ton (40 cubic feet) which is used by freight transport operators in the USA, ref: [1] and [2]

Conversions

  • 1 cubic ton (40 cubic feet) = 1.133 cubic metres
  • 1 cubic metre = 0.883 cubic tons (35.32 cubic feet)

These are approximate conversions, based on a cubic ton of 40 cubic feet, and will be subject to rounding errors.

Cubic tonne

There are many entries on the internet for cubic tonne but it is an unofficial unit. Its use should be discouraged because it is not an SI unit and there is uncertainty about its definition. The SI does not use mass-derived units of volume and the SI unit of volume is the cubic metre.

The metric system formerly did use a mass-derived unit of volume, the litre, which was defined as the volume occupied by one kilogram of water. That definition is no longer used and the litre is now defined as one cubic decimetre, although traditionally both synonyms are recognized.

In view of this precedent it is possible that some metric countries may, in the past, have used a cubic tonne but it has never been officially used in the United Kingdom. No definition of the cubic tonne has been found but, if it were defined as the volume occupied by one tonne of water, then it would be almost identical to the cubic metre.

Use by the BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has used the term cubic tonne on at least three occasions:

The BBC's use of this unofficial unit caused some amusement in chatrooms, for example: [3] The BBC obviously realised its mistake because it later amended the internet article by changing cubic tonnes to cubic metres, [4]

See also

  • Tun (unit)

Sources

  • The Reader's Digest Great Encyclopaedic Dictionary, 1964

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • cubic ton —    a unit of volume, used in various ways but most commonly equal to 40 cubic feet (1.13267 cubic meters). This makes it the same as the freight ton (see ton5) …   Dictionary of units of measurement

  • cubic ton — noun : ton 2c …   Useful english dictionary

  • ton —    1. (tn or T or t)    a traditional unit of weight equal to 20 hundredweight.    In the United States and Canada, there are 100 pounds in the hundredweight and exactly 2000 pounds (907.185 kilograms) in the ton. In Britain, there are 112 pounds …   Dictionary of units of measurement

  • ton — ton1 or displacement ton [tun] n. pl. tons; sometimes, after a number,ton [var. (differentiated (17th c.) for senses “weight, measure”) of TUN] 1. a unit of weight, equal to 2,000 pounds avoirdupois (907.1847 kilograms or 0.90718 metric ton or… …   English World dictionary

  • Ton — (t[u^]n), n. [OE. tonne, tunne, a tun, {AS}. tunne a tun, tub, a large vessel; akin to G. & F. tonne a ton, tun, LL. tunna a tun; all perhaps of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. tunna a tun. Cf. {Tun},{Tunnel}.] (Com.) A measure of weight or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ton|nage — «TUHN ihj», noun. 1. a) the carrying capacity of a ship, expressed in tons of 100 cubic feet. A ship of 50,000 cubic feet of space for freight has a tonnage of 500 tons. b) the amount of a commodity or other cargo shipped, loaded, unloaded, or in …   Useful english dictionary

  • ton — ► NOUN 1) (also long ton) a unit of weight equal to 2,240 lb avoirdupois (1016.05 kg). 2) (also short ton) chiefly N. Amer. a unit of weight equal to 2,000 lb avoirdupois (907.19 kg). 3) a metric ton. 4) (also displacement ton) a unit of… …   English terms dictionary

  • Ton — Not to be confused with tonnage. For other uses, see Ton (disambiguation). The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a… …   Wikipedia

  • ton — ton1 /tun/, n. 1. a unit of weight, equivalent to 2000 pounds (0.907 metric ton) avoirdupois (short ton) in the U.S. and 2240 pounds (1.016 metric tons) avoirdupois (long ton) in Great Britain. 2. Also called freight ton. a unit of volume for… …   Universalium

  • ton — I. /tʌn / (say tun) noun 1. a unit of mass in the imperial system equal to 2240 lb. (long ton), or approx. 1016 kg, and, in the US, 2000 lb. (short ton), or approx. 907 kg. 2. a unit of freight equal to 1000 kg or, formerly 40 cubic feet (freight …  

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