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FEATURED BOOKS ON MEASUREMENT AND CONVERSION FROM BARNES & NOBLE.COM:
Liter
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A measurement of the amount of space that a liquid takes up in a container, which is equal to 1.056688 quarts. To understand this better, picture a gallon of milk. It takes 4 quarts of milk to make up one gallon of milk. Since one liter is a little bit less than one quart, 4 liters of milk is a little bit less than one gallon of milk. One thousand milliliters equal one liter. One milliliter is equal to one cubic centimeter (also known as cc's) and one cubic decimeter. These measurements are based on those used in the United States.
A more complicated way to define a liter is to say that it is equal to the amount of space that one kilogram of water takes up 39 degrees Fahrenheit and at a standard pressure in the atmosphere equal to 760 millimeters of mercury. Whoa! Let's make this easier to understand. One kilogram of water equals one liter of water. Thirty-nine degrees Fahrenheit is cold. It is the same temperature as if it were 39 degrees outside. |
The standard pressure in the atmosphere means the normal pressure of the weight of the air that surrounds the earth. A millimeter is a very small unit of length equal to .0394 inches. Mercury is a metal element that is liquid at room temperature. Mercury will rise in a measuring device as the pressure in the air increases. The amount that mercury rises (or falls) is often measured in millimeters, and is known as millimeters of mercury. Atmospheric pressure of 760 millimeters of mercury is normal.
Knowing what these terms mean, let's reword that fancy sentence in the beginning of the last paragraph. One liter is equal to one liter of cold (39 degrees) water when the pressure in the air is normal. Liter is often abbreviated as L or l. Liter comes from the Greek word "litra" meaning "pound."
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