Definition for word: Ton

A measurement of the capacity of an air conditioning system. One ton of air conditioning is 12,000 Btus per hour. This means that a "one ton" air conditioning system can remove 12,000 Btus of heat per hour from a home.

Referrence from

The Ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.

It is derived from the tun, the term applied to a barrel of the largest size. This could contain a volume between 210 and 256 gallons, which could weigh around two thousand pounds and occupy some sixty cubic foot of space.

In the United Kingdom, the ton is a unit of measure which, when it ceased to be legal for trade in 1985, was defined in British legislation as being a weight or mass equal to 2,240 pounds (1,016 kg) (avoirdupois pounds). In the United States and Canada, however, a ton is defined to be 2,000 pounds (907 kg). To avoid confusion, the former is more specifically referred to as a "long ton" and the latter, a "short ton"; neither should be confused with the metric ton (tonne), which is 1,000 kilograms (2,205 lb). While they do vary, a ton is generally one of the heaviest units of weight or mass referred to in colloquial speech.

The term "ton" is also used to refer to a number of units of volume, ranging from 40 to 100 cu ft in capacity.

It can also be used as a unit of energy, expressed as an equivlent of coal burnt, or TNT detonated.

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