The short ton is a unit of weight equal to 2,000 pounds (907.18474 kg) . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton (or tonne, 1,000 kilograms) or the long ton (2,240 pounds (1,020 kg)); rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S. applications for which unspecified tons normally means long tons (for example, Navy ships) or metric tons (world grain production fig...
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The short ton is a unit of weight equal to 2,000 pounds (907.18474 kg) . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton (or tonne, 1,000 kilograms) or the long ton (2,240 pounds (1,020 kg)); rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S. applications for which unspecified tons normally means long tons (for example, Navy ships) or metric tons (world grain production figures).
Both the long and short ton are defined as 20 hundredweights, but a hundredweight is 112 pounds (50.8 kg) (which is equal to 8 stone, 1 stone/6.35 kilograms) in the Imperial system (long or gross hundredweight) and 100 pounds (45.4 kg) in the U.S. system (short or net hundredweight).
The spelling tonne is from Gallic and French. The term applied to the barrel of the largest size. In Old English the spelling was tunne, "cask". A full cask about a metre (about 40 in) high could easily weigh a metric tonne, since the volume of the...
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