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Barleycorn

A barleycorn is an old English unit of length, traditionally based on the length of a grain of barley. It is defined as exactly 1/3 of an inch or approximately 8.47 millimeters.

Historically, the barleycorn was used for measuring small lengths and was also the basis for the inch, which was originally considered to be three barleycorns long. It played a role in various traditional measurements, including shoe sizing in English-speaking countries, where shoe sizes were sometimes expressed in barleycorn units.

Although obsolete as a formal unit, the barleycorn remains culturally significant, especially in shoe sizing systems.

Summary:

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  1 barleycorn = 1/3 inch ≈ 8.47 mm

  
  
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  Based on the length of a grain of barley

  
  
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  Used historically in small measurements and shoe sizing

  
  
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  Mostly of historical and cultural interest today

  
  

Astronomical Unit (a.u.) of Length

The astronomical unit (a.u.) is a unit of length used primarily in astronomy to describe distances within our solar system. It is defined as the average distance between the Earth and the Sun.

Key facts:

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  1 astronomical unit ≈ 149,597,870.7 kilometers (about 93 million miles)

  
  
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  Used to measure distances between planets and other objects in the solar system

  
  
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  Provides a convenient scale for expressing space distances that are too large for kilometers but too small for light-years

  
  

The astronomical unit helps astronomers communicate and calculate orbits, planetary positions, and space missions with clarity and precision.