Minim (unit)
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The minim (abbreviated min, ♏ or 
) is a unit of volume in both the imperial and US customary systems of measurement. Specifically it is 1⁄60 of a fluidram[1] or 1⁄480 of a fluid ounce.[2][3]
The minim was introduced in the 1809 edition of the The pharmacopœia of the Royal College of Physicians of London as an alternative to the drop, which had previously been the smallest unit of the apothecaries' system.[4] It was observed that the size of a drop can vary considerably depending upon the viscosity and specific gravity of the liquid. (At the time, the phenomenon of surface tension was not well-understood.) The minim, on the other hand, was measured with a graduated glass tube known as a "minimometer"[5] later known as the minim-tube.[6] The minim-tube was a type of graduated pipette, a device invented in 1791 by Francois Antoine Henri Descroizilles.
Apothecaries' measures are fully described in the Weights and Measures Act of 1878. In the United Kingdom, the 1963 Weights and Measures Act provided for the abolition of the minim, fluid scruple, and fluid drachm, all already obsolete. Actual delegalization occurred on 1 February 1971.
The use of the minim, along with other such measures, has been reduced by the adoption of the metric system, and even in the least metricated countries, pharmacy in particular (notwithstanding other fields) is largely metricated and deprecates the apothecaries' system. The unit may rarely persist in some countries in the measurement of dosages of medicine.
Definitions
- Imperial minim
-
1 imperial minim = 1⁄480 imperial fluid ounce = 1⁄60 imperial fluidram = 59.1938802083 microlitres (exactly)[7][8] ≈ 1⁄500 US fluid ounce ≈ 0.960759940 US fluid minim
- US customary minim
-
1 US minim = 1⁄480 US fluid ounce = 1⁄80 US teaspoon = 1⁄60 US fluidram = 61.611519921875 microliters (exactly)[9] ≈ 1⁄461 imperial fluid ounce ≈ 1.040842731 imperial minims
References and notes
- ↑ also spelt fluid drachm or fluid dram
- ↑ CIA World Factbook
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- ↑ The notation 3 indicates that the digit 3 is repeated infinitely.
- ↑ This assumes the international inch of exactly 25.4 millimeters. The US gallon of 231 cubic inches is the same as the English Wine gallon.
