To clarify the question of how many kg are in a pound, and also where the name "pound" came from, we will have to go to ancient Rome.
In Rome, two names were used to denote a small weight. The word "libra" was used to denote the mass of precious metals and already minted coins. The weight of other substances was measured in pounds. Let's take a closer look at each of the designations and find out how many kilograms, grams and ounces are in a pound.
Probably most of us first associate with the word "pound" will be "pound sterling". Obviously, we are unlikely to find the answer to the question "how many kg in one pound" here, but it is this expression that we encounter most often in everyday life, and it is unfair to deprive him of attention.
The pound sterling is still the currency of Great Britain, some of its former colonies, and is denoted by the Latin letter L. It is easy to guess that this is so, because the name comes from the Latin name for the measure of weight "libra". As already mentioned, inIn the Roman Empire, the libra was used to denote weight, mostly of precious metals. The libra was equal to 327.45 grams and consisted of 12 ounces, each of which, in turn, was approximately 27 grams.
Ounces are still in use. They range from 28 (fluid ounce) to 31 grams - this is the so-called "troy ounce". The latter is used by jewelers and bank employees. The fluid ounce is still in demand among pharmacists and food manufacturers.
The pound sterling was originally one libra of pure silver coins.
Then, with the development of the monetary system, banknotes and coins appeared, which had nothing to do with the amount of silver used to make them. The memory of the Roman source remained only in the form of a designation - the Latin letter L.
In Russia, a spool was tied to the libre. Probably everyone has heard the saying that the spool is small, but expensive. Indeed, the spool was small and equaled approximately 4 grams of gold or 1/96 of a libra. This was also the name of a small gold coin of Kievan Rus.
Pound is another Roman unit of weight used to determine the mass of all other substances. And the answer to the question "how many kg in a pound" should be addressed to her.
In Rome, the pound, like the libra, was equal to 327 grams. But in medieval Europe, in every more or less significant area, sovereign gentlemen had the right to set the value of the pound at their own discretion. And it should be noted that they actively used this right, extracting from the answer to the question"how many kg in a pound" maximum benefit for yourself.
In Europe at the end of the eighteenth century, there were at least 100 different pounds. Their meanings are quite different from each other. For example, the Austrian pound was equal to 560 grams, and the Spanish pound was 450. The French pound, called the livre, was equal to 490 grams and, like the English pound sterling, was also originally used to denote a measure of the weight of silver coins. In Russia, a pound was equal to 409 grams, and D. I. himself created its standard. Mendeleev.
It is quite obvious that such a variety of designations for weight measures created a lot of inconvenience. Therefore, the metric system, with its kilograms and grams, was a great way out.
But it would be unfair to forget the pound. Therefore, now, after the adoption of the metric system, you can absolutely say how many kg are in a pound. Today, the default pound is equal to 500 grams.
