Convert kilometer to centimeter

Symbol

Kilometer is frequently represented by the symbol ‘km’. In the US, UK, and Canadian militaries, the word "klick" is a slang term of the kilometer.

Description

Kilometer is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one thousand meters. The kilometer is the preferred measurement unit to express distances between geographical places on land in most of the world. The United States and the United Kingdom are the notable exceptions where the statute mile is used.

A kilometer is equivalent to one thousand meters. So, one kilometer can be written in scientific notations as 1×10^3 m (engineering notation) or 1 E+3 m (exponential notation) — both meaning 10^3 × 1 m.

There are 0.621 statute miles in a kilometer. This means 1 statute mile is equivalent to 1.60934 kilometers. So to convert mile to km, multiply the mile with 0.621.

A kilometer is also equivalent to 3281 feet. In reverse, 1 foot equals 1/3281 kilometers. For calculation of km to yd (kilometer to yards), remember that there are 1094 international yards in a kilometer. If you want to convert nautical miles to km, then multiply kilometer value by 0.540.

History

The term kilometer was first used in the 1800s. It was introduced during the development and adoption of the metric system of weights and measures in France in the late 1700s.

The term "myriamètre"(preferring 10,000 meters) was used several times in 1802. It was used in the text of Develey's book Physique d'Emile: ou, Principes de la science de la nature.

It was first recorded as "kilometer' in 1800-1810. In 1835, French maps were published in which scales are shown in kilometers. The term "kilometer" first became an official unit in 1867  in the Netherlands representing 1000 meters.

Finally, the prefix "myria-" and the associated "myriametre" were officially removed by the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) in 1935, designating the term "kilometer" as the accepted unit of length for measurements.

Use

This is the go-to unit for expressing land distances, road length etc. 

Symbol

The Centimeter is represented by the symbol “cm.”

Description

Centimeter is a unit of length in the metric system which is also the International System of Units (SI). It was the base unit of length in the now deprecated CGS (centimeter-gram-second) system of units.

Centi is the SI prefix for a factor of 1/100.  A centimeter approximately corresponds to the average adult person's fingernail width. This unit is equal to one-hundredth of a meter, the base of the SI unit of length. So, a centimeter is equal to 1/100 meters. Though measurement units frequently choose SI prefixes for factors of 10^3, such as milli- and kilo-, for many physical values, however, the centimeter remains a practical unit of length for many everyday measurements. 

Centimeters can be changed to other SI units using prefix multipliers based on powers of ten. For example, a millimeter equals 1/10 centimeters. So, a centimeter is equivalent to 10 millimeters.

If you are converting cm to inch, then the calculation is different. One inch is equal to 2.54 centimeters. Therefore, one centimeter is equivalent to 0.393701 inches.

History

The term centimeter was first used in the late 1700s. The centimeter is a part of the metric system. The metric system of measurement is primarily credited to the French. The French government officially adopted this system on April 7, 1795.

Use

The centimeter as mentioned before is unit of length. It is more commonly used for dimensions for which meter measure is unrealistically large.