Nail (Cloth)
A nail is a traditional unit of length used in cloth measurement, equal to 2¼ inches or approximately 5.715 centimeters. It was commonly used by tailors and fabric merchants in England to measure small lengths of fabric.
The term “nail” likely originates from the practice of marking lengths on a measuring stick with notches or nails, making it easy to measure fabric quickly. The nail was a convenient subdivision of the yard, with 1 yard = 16 nails.
Though obsolete today, the nail remains an interesting part of historical textile measurement systems.
Summary:
1 nail = 2¼ inches (5.715 cm)
1 yard = 16 nails
Used historically in tailoring and fabric trade
Originates from notches or nails on measuring sticks
Gigameter
A gigameter (Gm) is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to 1 billion meters (1 Gm = 10⁹ meters). Gigameters are used to measure very large distances, often within the solar system. For example, the average distance from Earth to the Sun is about 150 gigameters, or 1 astronomical unit (AU). While not commonly used in everyday life, gigameters are helpful in astronomy and space science to describe distances between planets or other celestial bodies.
No conversions available for length.