Furlongs to Parsecs
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1 furlong (fur) = 6.51941E-15 parsec (pc). Furlong (fur) is a unit of Length used in Standard system. Parsec (pc) is a unit of Length used in Metric system.

Furlong: A Unit of Length Used in the US Customary System

The furlong (fur) is a unit of length in the US customary system, which is one of the systems of measurement used in the United States and some other countries. The furlong is equal to 220 yards, which is an eighth of a mile. The furlong is also a derived unit in the imperial system, which is the official system of measurement for the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries. The symbol for furlong is fur. The furlong is used for measuring long distances and areas, such as the length of a horse race or the area of a farm. The furlong is named after the furrow-long, which was the length of a furrow in one acre of a plowed open field in medieval England. In this article, we will explore the definition, history, usage and conversion of the furlong as a unit of length.

Definition of the Unit

The furlong is a unit of length that is equal to 220 yards. It is defined as 1/8 miles. The mile is defined as 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards.

The definition of the furlong has not changed since its origin in medieval England, as part of the old English system of measurement that was based on natural and traditional units. However, the definition of the mile has changed several times over time, as different standards and methods of measurement were developed by various countries and organizations. The current definition of the mile as based on feet and yards was agreed upon by an international treaty in 1959.

History of the Unit

The origin of the furlong as a unit of length can be traced back to medieval England, when it was used as a measure of land area and distance. The word furlong comes from the Old English words furh (furrow) and lang (long), meaning furrow-long. It referred to the length of a furrow in one acre of a plowed open field, which was a common system of land division and cultivation at that time. The open field was divided into strips or selions, each strip being one furlong long and one rod wide. A rod was equal to 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet. An acre was equal to four rods by 40 rods, or 160 square rods.

The furlong was also used as a measure of distance for horse racing and other sports. The standard length of a horse race was four furlongs, or half a mile. This was later increased to eight furlongs, or one mile, which became known as the classic distance for horse racing.

The furlong was adopted by other countries that followed the English system of measurement, such as the United States and Canada. It was also incorporated into the imperial system, which was established by an act of Parliament in 1824. The imperial system was based on seven base units that could be derived from natural and traditional units. The furlong remained as a derived unit in the imperial system, but it was no longer recommended for use in scientific and technical fields.

Usage of the Unit

The furlong is a unit of length that is used for measuring long distances and areas, such as the length of a horse race or the area of a farm.

The furlong is commonly used in horse racing, especially in North America and some other countries that follow the US customary system. Some examples are:

• Measuring the distance and speed of horses in races.
• Measuring the length and width of racetracks and courses.
• Measuring the height and weight of horses and jockeys.

The furlong is also used in agriculture, especially in rural areas where farms are still measured by acres and furlongs. Some examples are:

• Measuring the size and shape of fields and plots.
• Measuring the yield and production of crops and livestock.
• Measuring the distance and time between farms and markets.
• Measuring the taxes and subsidies for farmers.

How to Convert

The furlong can be converted to other units of length by using conversion factors or formulas. Here are some examples of how to convert furlongs to other units of length in the US customary system, the SI system and other systems:

• To convert furlongs to yards, multiply by 220. For example, 10 fur = 10 × 220 = 2200 yd.
• To convert furlongs to miles, divide by 8. For example, 10 fur = 10 / 8 = 1.25 mi.
• To convert furlongs to feet, multiply by 660. For example, 10 fur = 10 × 660 = 6600 ft.
• To convert furlongs to meters, multiply by 201.168. For example, 10 fur = 10 × 201.168 = 2011.68 m.
• To convert furlongs to kilometers, multiply by 0.201168. For example, 10 fur = 10 × 0.201168 = 2.01168 km.
• To convert furlongs to centimeters, multiply by 20116.8. For example, one fur = one × 20116.8 = 20116.8 cm.

Parsec: A Unit of Length

A parsec is a unit of length that is often used in astronomy to measure the large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System. It is approximately equal to 3.26 light-years or 206,265 astronomical units (au), which are the average distances from the Earth to the Sun. One parsec is about 30.9 trillion kilometres or 19.2 trillion miles.

Definition of the parsec

The word parsec is a combination of “parallax” and “arcsecond”, which are terms related to the measurement of angles. Parallax is the apparent shift in position of an object when viewed from different perspectives. Arcsecond is a unit of angle that is equal to one sixtieth of an arcminute, or one three thousand six hundredth of a degree.

A parsec is defined as the distance at which one astronomical unit subtends an angle of one arcsecond. In other words, it is the distance from which the Earth-Sun distance would appear as one arcsecond on the sky. This can be illustrated by an imaginary right triangle, where the adjacent side is one au, the opposite side is one parsec, and the angle opposite to the parsec side is one arcsecond.

History of the parsec

The concept of the parsec was first proposed by the British astronomer Herbert Hall Turner in 1913, as a convenient unit for expressing stellar distances. He coined the term by blending “parallax” and “second”. He also suggested using the symbol “pc” for parsec.

The first measurement of a stellar parallax was made by Friedrich Bessel in 1838, for the star 61 Cygni. He found that the star had a parallax of 0.314 arcseconds, which corresponds to a distance of about 10.4 parsecs. Since then, many more stars have been measured for their parallaxes, using various methods such as telescopes, satellites and interferometers.

The parsec is now widely used in astronomy and astrophysics, especially for objects within and around the Milky Way galaxy. For more distant objects, such as galaxies and quasars, larger units such as kiloparsecs (kpc), megaparsecs (Mpc) and gigaparsecs (Gpc) are used.

How to convert parsec

To convert parsecs to other units of length, we can use the following conversion factors:

• 1 pc = 3.0857 × 10^¹⁶ m
• 1 pc = 1.9174 × 10^¹³ mi
• 1 pc = 2.06265 × 10^⁵ au
• 1 pc = 3.26156 ly

To convert other units of length to parsecs, we can use the inverse of these conversion factors:

• 1 m = 3.24078 × 10^^-17 pc
• 1 mi = 5.21553 × 10^^-14 pc
• 1 au = 4.84814 × 10^^-6 pc
• 1 ly = 0.306601 pc

Where parsec is used

The parsec is mainly used in astronomy and astrophysics, as it is a convenient unit for expressing distances between stars and other celestial objects. For example:

• The nearest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri, is about 1.3 pc away.
• The center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is about 8 kpc away.
• The nearest galaxy to ours, Andromeda, is about 780 kpc away.
• The most distant quasar known, ULAS J1342+0928, is about 8.8 Gpc away.

The parsec can also be used in other fields that deal with large distances or angles, such as geodesy, navigation and surveying.

Example conversions of parsec to other units

Here are some examples of converting parsecs to other units of length:

• How many meters are in one parsec?

To convert one parsec to meters, we multiply by the conversion factor:

1 pc × 3.0857 × 10^¹⁶ m/pc = 3.0857 × 10^¹⁶ m

• How many miles are in 10 parsecs?

To convert 10 parsecs to miles, we multiply by the conversion factor:

10 pc × 1.9174 × 10^¹³ mi/pc = 1.9174 × 10^¹⁴ mi

• How many astronomical units are in 0.01 parsecs?

To convert 0.01 parsecs to astronomical units, we multiply by the conversion factor:

0.01 pc × 2.06265 × 10^⁵ au/pc = 2.06265 × 10^³ au

• How many light-years are in 100 parsecs?

To convert 100 parsecs to light-years, we multiply by the conversion factor:

100 pc × 3.26156 ly/pc = 326.156 ly

• How many parsecs are in one meter?

To convert one meter to parsecs, we divide by the conversion factor:

1 m / (3.0857 × 10^¹⁶ m/pc) = 3.24078 × 10^^-17 pc

• How many parsecs are in one mile?

To convert one mile to parsecs, we divide by the conversion factor:

1 mi / (1.9174 × 10^¹³ mi/pc) = 5.21553 × 10^^-14 pc

• How many parsecs are in one astronomical unit?

To convert one astronomical unit to parsecs, we divide by the conversion factor:

1 au / (2.06265 × 10^⁵ au/pc) = 4.84814 × 10^^-6 pc

• How many parsecs are in one light-year?

To convert one light-year to parsecs, we divide by the conversion factor:

1 ly / (3.26156 ly/pc) = 0.306601 pc