What is a gallon ? It is simply a unit of measurement or simply we can say that a large volume of something ;like water ,milk,oil, juice, syrup ,kerosene or fake blood etc .
**A gallon ** The British meaning of gallon is a unit of liquid or dry capacity equal to eight pints or 4.55 litres .The originated from Middle East from Anglo-Norman French galon from the base of Medieval Latin gallleta, galletum Pail liquid measure ; perhaps of Celtic origin .
The unit of gallon is volume .It is represented by gal .We can say that gal is the symbol of gallon .The conversion of gallon in imperial is 1 imperial gallon is equal to 4.54609 .Its SI unit is L .Its US costumary unit is=1.200950 US gal .
The gallon basically has many definitions of its own .In imperial system it has one definition but in US system it has two different definitions in liquid or dry .In addition to this it has many more definitions and redefinations.
** Versions of units in gallon **
The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units or in United States customary units .There are three different versions which are current in use :
the imperial gallon (imp gal) defined as , 4.546 09liters, which us or was used in the United Kingdom , Ireland , Canada , Australia and some Caribbean countries.
the US gallon (US gal) defined as 231 cubic inches (exactly 3.785 411 784 L ) which is used in the US and some Latin American and carribean countries .
the US dry gallon (“usdrygal”),defined as 1/8 US bushel ( exactly 4.404 883 770 86 L ).
** Definitions with discription **
There are four quarts in a gallon and eight pints in a gallon ,which have different volume in different systems.
The IEEE standard symbol of both US (liquid ) and imperial gallon is gal ; not to be confused with the gal (symbol: Gal) ,a CGS unit of acceleration .
Gallon : A gallon correctly has one definition in the imperial system and two definition (liquid and dry ) in the US customary system.Historically there are many definitions and redefinitions .
ENGLISH system gallon :-
There were a number of systems of measurements in United Kingdom prior to the 19th century .
Winchester or Corn gallon was 272 in 3 (157 imp fl oz; 4460 ml) (1697 Act 8 & 9 Will lll c22 )
• Henry Vll (Winchester) corn gallon from 1497 onwards was 154.80 imp fl oz (4398 ml )
• Elizebeth I corn gallon from 1601 onwards was 155.70 imp fl oz (4424 ml )
• William III corn from 1697 onwards was 156.90 ml imp fl oz ( 4458 ml )
Old English (Elizebethen ) Ale Gallon was 282 in3 (163 imp fl oz ;4620 ml ) (1700 Act 11 will III c15)
Old English ( Queen Anne ) Wine gallon was standardise as 231 in3 ( 133 imp fl oz ; 3790 ml ) in the 1706 Act 5 Anne c27 , but it differed before that :
• London ‘guildhall’ gallon (before 1688) was 129.19 imp fl oz (3671ml )
• Jersey gallon (from 1562 onwards ) was 139.20 imp fl oz (3955 ml)
• Gurensey gallon (17 century origin will 1917 ) was 150.14 imp fl oz (4266 ml )
Irish gallon was 217 in3 (125 imp fl oz ;3560 ml) (1459 irish Act 10 Hen VII c22 confirmed by 1736 Act Geo II c9)
** The British Imperial Gallon **
The British Imperial gallon is defined as perfectly 4.56609 dm3 .It is used in some common wealth countries and until 1976 was defined as the volume of 10 pounds (4.5359237 kg) of water at 62 degrees Fahrenheit (16.67 c ).There are four quarts in a gallon , the imperial pint is defined as 0.56826125 liters (1/8 gallon) there are 20 imperial fluid ounces in an imperial pints yielding 160 fluid ounces in an imperial gallon .
** US Liquid Gallon **
The US liquid gallon is simply know as a gallon (frequently it is called as gallon simply ).It is legally defined as 231 cubic inches , which is exactly 3.785411784 liters.A US liquid gallon of water weighs about 8.34 pounds or 3.78 kilo grams at 62 F (17 C) making it about 16.6% lighter than the imperial gallon .
There are four quarts in a gallon,two pints in a quarter and 16 US fluid ounces in a US pint , which makes the US fluid ounce equal to 1/128 of US gallon .In order to overcome the effect of expansion and contraction with temperature when using a gallon to specify a quantity of material for purposes of trade .
It is common to define the temperature at which the material will occupy the specified volume .For example the volume of petroleum products and alcoholic beverages are both referenced to 60 F (15.6 C) in government regulations .
** Summary **
Gallon is basically a measurement of liquid .Middie English gallon, galoun ,a liquid measure ,borrowed from Anglo french galun,galon,Jalon from old french jal-,Base of jaloie container for liquid .
Bucket “(going back to Vulgar Latin *galleta of uncertain origin )+ -on diminutive or particularising suffix going back to Latin -ō,-ōn-,suffix of person with prominent feature .Presumed galleta (attested as Medieval Latin galleta “wine vessel ,liquid measure .
** Difference between Gallon and liter **
On the basic of comparison gallon and liter have sone basic differences :
Relation : 1 Gallon = 3.7845 liters
Size : One Gallon is bigger then liter
Use : A gallon is used as standard unit of petrol
Applicability : This measurement unit is used in countries like the US ,Liberia ,Columbia etc
** Gallons In kg **
1 gallon = 3.79 kg wt .The kilogramme or kilogram (SI unit or symbol : kg) ,is the base unit of mass in the international system of units (SI) ( the Metric system)and is defined as being equal to the mass of international prototype of the kilogram (IPK) .
** Formula to solve gallons**
LxWx D = cubic feet
Cubic ft x 7.47 = gallon
** Inventor of gallon **
EMPEROR CLAUDIUS introduced Roman measurments into Britian during Roman rule in the 1st century .8 Roman congius (which remains the Latin word for Gallon ) filled an Amphora .The Amphora was the standard unit for the bulk measurement of liquids in Ancient Rome .An Amphora was approximately 1 cubic foot of liquid .
** Pounds In a Gallon **
The imperial gallon of water is defined as 10.02 pounds at its maximum density while the weight of US dry gallon of water is defined as 9.71 pounds.However the answer comes with a caveat .The weight per gallon of water fluctuates with temperature.
** Ounces in a gallon **
A gallon of water is 128 ounces .One pound is 16 ounces .That means a gallon water equates to 8 pounds or but the size of a newborn baby .It took getting used to but by the end of the first month drinking a gallon of water everyday easier .
** Usage of Gallon worldwide **
Gallon used in fuel economy expression in Canada and the United Kingdom are imperial gallon .
Despite in status as a US territory and unlike American Samoa the Northern Mariana Island , Guam and the US virgin island Puerto Rico ceased selling gasoline by the US gallon in 1980 .
The gallon was removed from the list of legally defined prime units of measured catalogue in the EU direction 80/181/EEC for trading and official purposes which efforts from 31 December 1994.
Under the directive the gallon could still be used but only as the supplementary and secondary unit .
One of the effects of this directive was that the United Kingdom Amanded it’s own legislation to replace the gallon with the liter as a primary unit of measure in the trade and in the conduct of public business ,effective from 30 September 1995.
Ireland also passed legislation in response to the EU directive with the effective date being 31 December 1993.Though the gallon has ceased to be the legally defined primary unit,it can still be legally used in both the UK and Ireland as a supplementary unit .
The unites Arab emirates started selling gasoline by the liter in 2010 while Guyana and Panama switched in 2013 .The UAE and Guyana former British colonies ,had used the imperial gallon and Panama the US gallon before this time .
Myanmar (Barma ) switched from imperial gallon to liter sales before the 2014 .
Antigua and Barbuda planned to switch over to using liters 2015 but due to various issues the switch over was only effective in 2019.
As of 2019 the imperial gallon continues to be used as a unit of measure in Anguilla ,the British Virgin Island , The Cayman Island,Dominica ,Grenada ,Montserrat ,ST Kitts & Nevis , ST Lucia and ST Vincent & the Grenadines.
Other then the United States ,the US gallon is still used in Belize , Columbia ,The Dominican Republic ,Ecuador , El Salvador ,Guatemala ,Haiti , Honduras ,Liberia ,Nicaragua and Peru but only for the sake of gasoline ; all other products in these countries are sold in liters and in multiples and sub multiples of a liter .
In the Turk and Caicos Island but the US gallon and the imperial gallon are used,this is due to an increase in tax duties which are disguised by levying the same duty on the US gallon (3.79 L)as we previously levied on the imperial gallon .
** Relationship to other units **
Both the US liquid and imperial gallon are divided into four quarts (quarter gallon) which in turn are divided into two pints ,which in turn are divided into two cups ,which in turn are further divide into two gills ,Thus four gallons ,eight pints ,sixteen cups or thirty two gills .
The imperial gill is further divided into five fluid ounces whereas the US gill is divided into four fluid ounces meaning an imperial fluid ounces is 1/20 of an imperial pint or 1/160 of an imperial gallon ,while a US fluid ounce is 1/16 of the US pints or 1/128 of a US gallon .
Since the imperial gallon ,quarts ,pint,cup and gill are approximately 20% larger then their US counterparts,these are not interchangeable while the imperial fluid ounces is only approximately 4% smaller than the fluid ounce and there are often therefore used interchangeably .
Historically a common bottle size for ■■■■■■ in The US was the fifth ,ie one fifth of the US gallon or one sixth of the imperial gallon .While spirit sales in the US were switched to metric measures in 1976 ,a 750 ml bottle is still sometimes known as “fifth”.
##Frequently asked questions
###Q1: What is a gallon ?
Gallon is simply a measuring unit .Or simply we can say that a bulk amount of any liquid in a big container i.e gallon or water , syrup , oil , milk , gasoline , kerosene etc
###Q2: Why we use gallon ?
As we know gallon is a unit of measurement for gasoline , water , oil .If your car tank is running on empty, then you better pull over and buy at least a few more gallons or gasoline for rainy time .
###Q3: Why do we call gallon a gallon ?
The word gallon comes from a Latin root galleta for “wine jug” which may have actually been of Celtic origin that’s why gallon is called gallon .
###Q4: What the two main types of gallons ?
There are two main types of gallons as we know :
US gallon
Imperial gallon
###Q5: If I drink one gallon of water daily , is it OK ?
There is really no limit for taking water daily and it is not harmful if you take a gallon of water daily .But for those who have heart issue and kidney problem they must have to be very careful on their daily water intake .
###Q6: In science What is gallon ?
It is a noun : a common unit of capacity in English speaking countries equal to four quarts the US standard gallon being equal to 231 cubic inches (3.7853 l) and the British imperial gallon to 277.42 cubic inches (4.46 l).Abbrevation is gal .
###Q7: From where gallon is derived ?
The gallon is derived as the base of systems for measuring wine and beer in England .The sizes of gallons used in these two systems were different from each other the first was based on the wine gallon and the second one either the ale gallon or the larger imperial gallon.
###Q8: When Did the gallons changed to liters at first ?
There was then a kind of weird mix of petrol stations selling in liters, gallons or both until 1 January 1995 ,when the old measurement was officially phased out .
###Q9: What do you think that what is a Canadian gallon ?
A Canadian gallon is roughly 4.5 liters and US gallon is 3.8 liters .Candian gallon is somehow different then the imperial and US gallon .
###Q10: Which gallon is used in United Arab Emirates?
In Abu Dhabi all oil companies and corporations operating in UAE will use liter as a unit of measurement for the fuel instead of the gallon in the service station across the UAE from January 1,2010.
** CONCLUSION **
The term derives most immediately from galun ,galon in northern french but the Use age was common in several languages for example jale in old French and gellet in old English .This suggest a common origin in Romance Latin ,but the ultimate source of the word is unknown .
The gallon originated as a base of system of measuring wine and beer in England .The sizes of gallon used in these two systems were different from each other first is based on the US gallon and the other is larger imperial gallon .
Historically gallons of various sizes were used in many parts of Western Europe .