Units of Measure That Start With T

Units of measure that start with “T” include the tonne (metric ton), the ton (short and long), the tesla, the torr, the tablespoon, the teaspoon, the therm, the thou (mil), and the township. This article lists these units, explains what each one measures, and gives the conversions you are most likely to need.

Formula

The tonne (symbol t) is defined as exactly 1000 kilograms. The conversions used above are:

• Pounds: 1 t = 2204.6226218 lb (exact by definition of the international pound)
• US short tons: 1 t = 1.1023113109 US tons (1 short ton = 2000 lb)
• Kilograms: 1 t = 1000 kg

Worked Example

Using the default value of 1 tonne:

1. Pounds: 1 × 2204.6226218 = 2204.62 lb
2. US short tons: 1 × 1.1023113109 = 1.10 US tons
3. Kilograms: 1 × 1000 = 1000 kg

So 1 tonne equals 2204.62 pounds, 1.10 US short tons, and 1000 kilograms.

Mass and Weight Units: Tonne, Ton, and Troy Ounce

The most common “T” units for mass are the tonne and the ton, but they are not the same in every country.

• Tonne (t) – metric unit, exactly 1000 kg. Used worldwide for shipping, agriculture, and industry.
• Short ton – US unit, 2000 lb (907.18474 kg). Used in the US for scrap metal, coal, and construction.
• Long ton – UK imperial unit, 2240 lb (1016.0469088 kg). Used in shipping (deadweight tonnage) and some UK industries.
• Troy ounce (oz t) – 31.1034768 g. Used for precious metals, not the same as the avoirdupois ounce (28.3495 g).

When someone says “ton” without a qualifier, they usually mean the short ton in the US and the long ton in the UK. The tonne is the standard in most other countries and in scientific work.

Volume and Cooking Units: Teaspoon, Tablespoon, and Therms

In cooking, the teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) are the most common “T” units. Both have US and metric variants.

• US teaspoon = 4.92892 mL
• Metric teaspoon = 5 mL (used in Australia, NZ, and many cookbooks)
• US tablespoon = 14.7868 mL (3 US teaspoons)
• Metric tablespoon = 15 mL (3 metric teaspoons)
• Australian tablespoon = 20 mL (4 metric teaspoons)

The therm is a unit of heat energy, not volume. One therm = 100,000 British thermal units (BTU). It is used in the natural gas industry for billing and heating value. One therm is roughly 29.3 kWh or 105.5 MJ.

Pressure and Force Units: Torr and Ton-force

The torr (symbol Torr) measures pressure. It is defined as exactly 1/760 of a standard atmosphere. One torr is approximately 133.322 pascals. It is named after Evangelista Torricelli, the inventor of the mercury barometer. In vacuum technology, pressures are often given in torr or millitorr (mTorr).

The ton-force is a unit of force, not mass. A short ton-force is the force exerted by one short ton under standard gravity: 2000 lb × 9.80665 m/s² = 8.896443230521 kN. The long ton-force is 9.964016418183 kN. These units appear in engineering and structural design.

Magnetic and Electrical Units: Tesla and Tera-

The tesla (symbol T) is the SI unit of magnetic flux density. One tesla = 1 weber per square meter = 1 kg/(A·s²). It is named after Nikola Tesla. For reference:

• Earth’s magnetic field: about 25 to 65 microteslas (µT)
• A refrigerator magnet: about 5 milliteslas (mT)
• An MRI machine: 1.5 to 3 teslas
• A strong laboratory electromagnet: up to 20 teslas

The prefix “tera-” (symbol T) means 10¹². So a terawatt (TW) is 10¹² watts, a terabyte (TB) is 10¹² bytes, and a terahertz (THz) is 10¹² hertz. These are not separate units but multiples of existing ones.

Length and Area Units: Thou, Township, and Toise

The thou (also called mil) is a unit of length equal to 0.001 inch (25.4 µm). It is used in engineering and manufacturing for measuring thickness of sheet metal, plastic film, and coatings. A related unit is the microinch (µin) = 0.000001 inch.

The township is a US land survey unit. In the Public Land Survey System, a township is 36 square miles (about 93.24 km²), divided into 36 sections of 1 square mile each. It is used in land deeds and property descriptions in many US states.

The toise is an old French unit of length equal to about 1.949 meters. It was used in France before the metric system and in some early surveys of Canada and Louisiana. It is now obsolete but appears in historical documents.

Common Mistakes and Confusions

The biggest source of error is mixing up tonne, short ton, and long ton. A 1-tonne load is about 10% heavier than a short ton and about 2% lighter than a long ton. If you are shipping goods or buying bulk material, always confirm which ton is meant.

Another common mistake is assuming a tablespoon is the same everywhere. A US recipe calling for 2 tablespoons means 29.57 mL, while an Australian recipe means 40 mL. That difference can affect baking results.

For pressure, torr and mmHg are often used interchangeably because they are nearly equal (1 torr ≈ 1 mmHg at 0 °C). However, the torr is defined as exactly 1/760 atm, while mmHg depends on the density of mercury and gravity, so they differ slightly (1 torr = 0.999999857 mmHg).

How to Choose the Right Unit

Choose the unit based on your context:

• For international trade and science, use the tonne (t).
• For US domestic heavy goods, use the short ton.
• For UK shipping, use the long ton.
• For cooking, follow the recipe’s country of origin.
• For vacuum work, use torr or mbar.
• For magnetic fields, use tesla (or gauss in older equipment: 1 T = 10,000 G).

When in doubt, convert everything to SI units (kg, m, Pa) for calculations, then convert the final answer to the unit your audience expects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a tonne the same as a metric ton?

Yes. “Tonne” and “metric ton” are two names for the same unit: 1000 kilograms. The symbol is “t” in the SI system. The US spelling is usually “metric ton,” while most other English-speaking countries use “tonne.”

How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?

In the US system, exactly 3 teaspoons equal 1 tablespoon. In the metric system, 3 metric teaspoons (5 mL each) also equal 1 metric tablespoon (15 mL). However, in Australia, a tablespoon is 20 mL, so 4 metric teaspoons equal 1 Australian tablespoon.

What is the difference between torr and mmHg?

They are nearly identical. One torr is defined as exactly 1/760 of a standard atmosphere. One mmHg is the pressure exerted by a 1 mm column of mercury at 0 °C under standard gravity. The difference is about 0.000015%, so for most practical purposes they are interchangeable.

Is a terabyte 1000 or 1024 gigabytes?

In the SI system, a terabyte (TB) is 10¹² bytes = 1000 gigabytes. In binary notation, a tebibyte (TiB) is 2�� bytes = 1024 gibibytes. Hard drive manufacturers use decimal (TB), while operating systems often show binary (TiB) but label it TB, which causes the apparent “missing” space.

What does “T” mean in measurements?

“T” can stand for tonne (mass), tesla (magnetic flux density), tera- (prefix for 10¹²), or temperature in some contexts. In cooking recipes, a capital “T” usually means tablespoon, and a lowercase “t” means teaspoon. Always check the context.

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in t | Tonnes | t | 1 | 0
out lb | Pounds | lb | t * 2204.6226218 | 2
out us_ton | US short tons | US ton | t * 1.1023113109 | 2
out kg | Kilograms | kg | t * 1000 | 0