What is a chain?
The chain is a unit of length measurement commonly used in surveying and land measurement. It is primarily used in countries that follow the imperial system of measurement, such as the United States and the United Kingdom. One chain is equal to 66 feet or 20.1168 meters. It is further divided into 100 links, with each link measuring 0.66 feet or 7.92 inches.
The chain was historically used for measuring large areas of land, such as farms or estates. Surveyors would use chains to measure distances between points and establish boundaries. The use of chains allowed for more accurate measurements compared to other methods available at the time. Today, the chain is still used in some specialized fields, such as civil engineering and land surveying, although it has been largely replaced by more modern and precise measurement tools like GPS.
What is a yard?
A yard is a unit of length commonly used in the United States and other countries that have adopted the Imperial system of measurement. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches. The yard is primarily used for measuring distances in everyday situations, such as the length of a room or the height of a person. It is also commonly used in sports, particularly in American football, where the field is divided into 100 yards.
The yard is believed to have originated from the length of a person's stride. In medieval times, a yard was defined as the distance from the tip of the nose to the end of the outstretched arm of King Henry I of England. However, the exact length of a yard has varied throughout history and between different countries. It wasn't until 1959 that the yard was officially defined as 0.9144 meters by international agreement.
While the yard is still widely used in the United States, many other countries have adopted the metric system and use the meter as their primary unit of length. However, the yard is still used in some specialized fields, such as construction and landscaping, where it is more convenient to work with fractions of a yard rather than decimal fractions of a meter.