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Length/Distance | Convert from point [Didot] to shackle |
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Common Length Conversions Metric Length Conversions Unit Definition (point [Didot]) The point is a unit of length used by typographers and printers. When printing was done from hand-set metal type, one point represented the smallest element of type that could be handled, roughly 1/64 inch. Eventually, the point was standardized in Britain and America as exactly 1/72.27 = 0.013 837 inch, which is about 0.35 mm (351.46 micrometers). In continental Europe, typographers traditionally used a slightly larger point of 0.014 83 inch (about 1/72 pouce, 0.377 mm, or roughly 1/67 English inch), called a Didot point after the French typographer Firmin Didot (1764-1836). In the U.S., Adobe software defines the point to be exactly 1/72 inch (0.013 888 9 inch or 0.352 777 8 millimeters), a unit sometimes called the big point (bp). The German standards agency DIN has proposed that all these units be replaced by multiples of 0.25 millimeters (1/101.6 inch). Unit Definition (shackle) The shackle is a traditional unit of length used for measuring the lengths of nautical cables and chains, especially anchor chains. Anchor chains are formed by using shackles to join short lengths of chain. When the anchor is dropped and the chain runs out, a seaman counting the number of shackles can report the total length of chain deployed. The size of the unit therefore varied somewhat, depending on the length of the short chains used. In Britain, the unit became standardized in the 16th century at 12.5 fathoms (75 feet or 22.86 meters). In 1949, the Royal Navy adopted a length of 15 fathoms, which is 90 feet or 27.432 meters; this brought the British shackle in line with the U.S. unit, which is usually called the shot.
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