|
Length/Distance | Convert from gry to gnat's eye |
Related Categories:
Common Length Conversions Metric Length Conversions Unit Definition (gry) The gry is a proposed unit of distance in the English traditional system. The name was first used in June 1679 by the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) as a unit equal to 0.001 foot, 0.01 inch, or 0.1 line in a decimalized distance system. (Thomas Jefferson, who was very familiar with Locke's writings, later proposed a similar system in the U.S., but he called 0.001 foot a point rather than a gry.) In 1813, the gry was revived in another decimal measurement scheme in Britain. All these ideas failed, but the gry had some limited use in the nineteenth century as a unit equal to 0.1 line or 1/120 inch (0.211 667 millimeter). Long forgotten, the gry recently came back into the limelight in connection with a puzzle, circulating on the Internet, which asked for three English words ending in -gry. The word "gry" is from the ancient Greek, where it meant "a trifling amount". Unit Definition (gnat's eye) The gnat's eye is an idiomatic "unit" of distance; it's common to hear that something is "as small as a gnat's eye". In fact, the eyes of typical gnats tend to have diameters similar in size to a hair's breadth: roughly 100-150 micrometers (0.10-0.15 millimeters).
|
|