Unit Converter

Convert between different units of length, weight, and temperature

How to Use

  1. Pick Length, Weight, or Temperature
  2. Type the value you want to convert
  3. Select the "From" and "To" units
  4. Read the result — it updates as you type

Inside the Math (and Where Floats Bite)

Length and weight conversions are just multiplication by a constant defined in the SI brochure: the inch has been exactly 25.4 mm since the 1959 international yard and pound agreement, and the avoirdupois pound is exactly 0.45359237 kg. Those aren't rounded — they're definitions. So 100 lb → kg should give you 45.359237 every time.

Temperature is the odd one out because the scales don't share a zero. Celsius and Fahrenheit are affine, not linear: F = C × 9/5 + 32. The 32 offset is why "double the temperature" means nothing in Fahrenheit. Kelvin at least shares a scale with Celsius — K = C + 273.15 — and is the only one with a true zero point.

One thing this tool can't fully escape: IEEE 754 double-precision floats. Convert 0.1 kg to pounds and back, and you may see 0.09999999999999998 rather than 0.1. That's not a bug in the ratio — it's that 0.1 doesn't have a finite binary representation. For most everyday use this is invisible, but if you're doing legal-for-trade weighing or aerospace work, use a decimal library (JavaScript's BigDecimal proposal, or Python's decimal) and pin the ratios as exact fractions. Source: NIST SP 811, "Guide for the Use of the International System of Units."

Related Articles