Forgotten Realms Wiki:Units of measurement

When writing units of measurement on this wiki, please be aware that readers come from all over the world, and the SI system is the predominant system globally. However, the source material often uses imperial measurements, as this is the standard used in its country of origin (USA).

Please use the following guidelines when writing units:


 * Original unit first, then a single converted unit in parentheses (brackets) : Often, only the imperial unit is given in the source material. List the original first, then the conversion. Converting is as simple as typing, for example, "6 ft in m" into Google.
 * Convert to SI first, then imperial, then an arbitrary choice : If the unit in the source is "6 ft", convert to an appropriate SI unit (metres, in this case), so "6 ft (1.8 m)" for example. If the unit in the source is SI, convert to imperial, so "2 m (7 ft)" for example. If the unit in the source is neither SI nor imperial (6 foobars, for example), then give precedence to SI, but consider converting to both systems, so "6 foobars (1.8 m or 6 ft)", or simply "6 foobars (1.8 m)".
 * Round to the same number of significant figures : 30 ft is 9.144 m, but 30 ft contains only 2 significant figures, so it is sufficent to convert to 9.1 m (which also has 2 significant figures). Converting 3 ft to 0.9 m might not be accurate enough, and 0.91 m or 91 cm might be more appropriate, so use best judgement here.
 * Whether or not you are abbreviating the unit, leave a space between the number and the unit : So use "2.3 m" rather than "2.3m" and "3.2 kilometres (2 miles)" rather than "3.2kilometres (2miles)". Prefer the abbreviated unit unless there is a specific need for clarity or there is obvious cause for confusion.
 * Use text-based units : So despite 4'6" and 4ft 6in being equivalent, use 4 ft 6 in as it is clearer for those not familiar with the units.

Examples

 * 2.3 m (7.5 ft)
 * 2.3 metres (7.5 feet)
 * 48.2 km (30 mi)
 * 23 cm (9 in)