Meter

Definition: A meter, or metre (symbol: m), is the base unit of length and distance in the International System of Units (SI). The meter is defined as the distance traveled by light in 1/299,792,458 of a second. This definition was modified in 2019 to reflect changes in the definition of the second.

History/origin: Originally, in 1793, the meter was defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole. This changed in 1889, when the International prototype metre was established as the length of a prototype meter bar (made of an alloy of 90% platinum and 10% iridium) measured at the melting point of ice. In 1960, the meter was again redefined, this time in terms of a certain number of wavelengths of a certain emission line of krypton-86. The current definition of the meter is effectively the same as the definition that was adopted in 1983, with slight modifications due to the change in definition of the second.

Current use: Being the SI unit of length, the meter is used worldwide in many applications such as measuring distance, height, length, width, etc. The United States is one notable exception in that it largely uses US customary units such as yards, inches, feet, and miles instead of meters in everyday use. Meters are the standard unit for scientific measurements and are used globally in engineering, construction, athletics, and most international sports.

Centimeter

Definition: A centimeter (symbol: cm) is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), the current form of the metric system. It is defined as 1/100 meters. One centimeter is equal to 0.393701 inches.

History/origin: The prefix "centi-" indicates a hundredth, and therefore one centimeter is equal to one hundredth of a meter. Metric prefixes range from factors of 10^-18 to 10^18 based on a decimal system, with the base (in this case the meter) having no prefix and having a factor of 1. Learning some of the more commonly used metric prefixes, such as kilo-, mega-, giga-, tera-, centi-, milli-, micro-, and nano-, can be helpful for quickly navigating metric units.

Current use: The centimeter, like the meter, is used in all sorts of applications worldwide (in countries that have undergone metrication) in cases where a smaller denomination of the meter is required. Height is commonly measured in centimeters outside of countries like the United States. Centimeters are widely used in everyday measurements, construction, tailoring, and education. They provide a convenient scale for measuring objects that are too large for millimeters but too small for meters.

Meter to Centimeter Conversion Table

How to Convert Meter to Centimeter