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So this is the metric conversion - K h d b d c m I can't understand how you can convert metric squared units to volume squared units or vice versa. For example converting 3400 mm squared to ml squared, how should you proceed while using the metric conversion? So in a nutshell, can someone explain how one can convert volume to distance (that being said cm, m, km, dm, etc) WHILE using the metric conversion system?

karolinalaso
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  • I don't get it. The only thing you have to know is $l=dm^3$. The rest is just primary school manipulation. You keep using the word "metric" but it holds no significance here, you're just substituting an alias (shortcut) for a particular unit. The worst part is, you're mixing incompatible dimensions: volume isn't distance. It's distance cubed. So mm squared has nothing to do with ml squared, no matter how you call it. It's apples and oranges. Worse... it's apples and horses.

    What's K h d b d c m supposed to mean?

     – orion Jan 20 '16 at 21:35

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Unit conversions only make sense when the type of unit is the same before and after.

If you have a length in feet, you'll need a length after the conversion. This can be measured in millimeters, furlongs, or parsecs.

If you have a volume before, you'll need a volume after. If you have a force before, you'll need a force after. Etc.

To get to your example: $3400$ $mm^2$ is an area. You can convert this to acres, square feet, etc.

But I've never seen, nor even imagined, what a square milliliter looks like. A milliliter is a unit of volume, which is equivalent to a length cubed. So a square milliliter has the dimensions of a length to the sixth power. These kinds of things don't exist in our universe, to my knowledge.

This is the same reason you can't convert a volume to a distance. The dimensions are different.

John
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