Imperial Units of Measurement

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Various units of measurement exist within the Imperium, used and referenced directly within the Warhammer 40000 setting. In many cases the phrases Terran Standard,[3] Earth Standard,[5b] Imperial Standard,[23] or Solar[7a] are used to indicate that a unit given is based on the standards of the planet Terra[5b] and the Sol System, the capital of the Imperium[1a] and the evolutionary cradle and origin of Mankind.[2] This is useful, as the myriad worlds of the Imperium may have a diverse array of local measurements, including stellar cycles[7c] and local gravity.[8a][19b] For example, in his childhood the Primarch Corvus Corax, having quite literally freshly left his crashed pod on Lycaeus, found he had an innate knowledge of local gravity being less than Terran Standard, though he was confused given his lack of context of Terra itself:[8a]

What did ‘Terran-normal’ mean? His thoughts were still scattered. He understood gravity, and if asked could have written out many long equations regarding the calculation of its strength and effect, but it was just one fragment of information tossed haphazardly across his mind, like the shining glass pieces strewn over the floor.
Corvus Corax, pondering his innate knowledge[8a]


The following units of measurements have all been either spoken directly by individuals in the Warhammer Setting, exist in in-universe reports, or stated to be in-universe standard measurements, rather than non-diegetic descriptions for the benefit of reader:

Units of Time

The term Terran Standard Time is used in the Imperium.[7a] The following units are stated to have a Terran Standard duration:

Imperial planets with different orbital times to their local star than Terra does to Sol are likely to still measure time in Terran Standard years, or at least Imperial authorities on the world likely will.[34]

Members of the Adeptus Mechanicus are known to have some degree of preference to measure time according to Mars rather than Terra within their insular societies.[31a][31b] One Martian year equates to about two Terran years.[31b] The following units are stated to have a Martian duration:

During interstellar journeys, it isn't uncommon for time distortion to occur during a warp jump. Time is distorted at drastically variable rates between real space and warp space. Due to this, time spent in warp space is referred to as warp time while time spent in real space is called real time.[30]

Units of Distance

  • Light year is an astronomical unit of measuring distance.[30][32][33]
  • The mile is a Terran standard unit of distance.[12][34b]
  • A hectarid also exists.[26]

Other units of distance and length have been mentioned including a kilometre[13][14] a metre[14] a yard[15] and feet.[27]

Click/klick have also been referenced:

Units of Area

  • A hectare is a unit of measurement for area. It is sometimes used to measure large areas, such as rockcrete landing pad.[29]

Weight and Mass

  • Terran Standard Gravity is used to describe gravity consistent with the planet Terra[7d][7a] it is measured in units of Gs, with Terran Standard being 1G. Planets may have lighter or heavier local gravity, for example Morwen VI has a local gravity of 0.98G's[22] while Golgotha has a local gravity of 1.12Gs, or 12% higher than Standard Terran.[19b]
  • Kilogram is a Terran Standard unit.[19b] Sergeant Oskar Andreas Wulfe noted he weighs 85 kilograms while the Hand of Radiance maintained Terran Standard Gravity via it's shipboard Grav-Field. Once the ship was in Golgotha's atmosphere, it deactivated its artificial gravity, and he noted his local weight now being 95 kilograms, 12% more than his normal.[19b]

Other units include a pound[18]

Temperature

  • Celsius is used by humanity to measure temperature on various worlds, such as Hauts Bassiq.[16]

Units of Energy

The following units of energy have been referenced:

Sound

  • Decibel - 100 decibels is markedly loud and high enough to make objects vibrate.[37]

Other

Trivia

TriviaScrollTrans.png

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

  • The terms in this article exist in Low Gothic in the 40k setting, which is an amalgamation of several of the Ancient Terran Languages. Thus it is not clear if they necessarily represent, or are equal to, their similar sounding real-world counterparts.[5a][1b]
    • For example, in the real world, a mile is equal to 1.609344 kilometres. It is not clear if this is also true in 40k.
    • In the real world, a hand as used to measure horses is 4 inches
    • In the real world, a hectare is a square with 100-metre sides.
    • In the real world, a full orbital year on Mars is approximately 1.88 years on Earth.
    • In the real world, a light year is 9,460,730,472,580.8 km (approximately 9.46 trillion kilometres or 5.88 trillion miles).
    • In the real world, a click or a klick is an informal term for a kilometer.
  • The term megathoule is likely inspired the real-world energy unit megajoule[20]
  • In the real world, kilograms and pounds are technical units of mass, but in everyday usage are often referred to when describing weight.

See also

Sources

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