Look up kilometre or kilometer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The kilometre (American spelling: kilometer; SI symbol: km) is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for 1000). It is now the measurement unit used officially for expressing distances between geographical places on land in most of the world; notable exceptions are the United States and the United Kingdom where the statute mile is the official unit used.

k (pronounced kay) is occasionally used in some English-speaking countries as an alternative for the word kilometre in everyday writing and speech.^[1][2][3] A slang term for the kilometre in the U.S. military is klick.^[4]

Pronunciation[link]

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There are two common pronunciations for the word:

• /ˈkɪlɵmiːtər/ KIL-o-mee-tər and
• /kɨˈlɒmɨtər/ ki-LOM-i-tər

The former pronunciation follows the general pattern in English whereby SI units of measurement are pronounced with the stress on the first syllable, and the pronunciation of the actual base unit does not change irresepective of the prefix. It is generally preferred by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Many scientists and other users, particularly in countries where the Metric System (SI) is not widely used, use the pronunciation with stress on the second syllable.^[5][6] The latter pronunciation follows the stress pattern used for the names of measuring instruments (such as micrometer, barometer, thermometer, tachometer and speedometer). The problem with this reasoning, however, is that the word meter in those usages refers to a measuring device, not a unit of length. The contrast is even more obvious in countries using the English rather than American spelling of the word metre.

When Australia introduced the metric system in 1975, the first pronunciation was declared official by the government's Metric Conversion Board. However, the Australian Prime Minister at the time, Gough Whitlam, insisted that the second pronunciation was the correct one because of the Greek origins of the two parts of the word.^[7]

Equivalence to other units of length[link]

Units are given to three significant figures:

Visualisation[link]

The kilometre may be visualised in terms of prominent landmarks.

Niagara Falls (1039 m)[link]

Niagara Falls from Prospect Point. The extremity of the Horseshoe Falls in the distance is about one kilometre away The distance between the American extremity of the Niagara Falls and the Canadian extremity is 1039 m,[10] or slightly more than a kilometre. Although the length of the rim of the Canadian extremity (Horseshoe Falls) is quoted as being 790 m and the rim of the American extremity American Falls as being 320 m which add up to more than 1110 m, the rim of the Horseshoe falls is far from straight, so the direct distance between the end-points is 304 m. 43°05′08″N 79°04′08″W / 43.08557°N 79.06885°W / 43.08557; -79.06885 NE extremity of American Falls (Prospect Point) 43°04′44″N 79°04′41″W / 43.07901°N 79.07798°W / 43.07901; -79.07798 SW extremity of the Horseshoe Falls

The Mall, London (987 m)[link]

The Mall from Buckingham Palace on the occasion of the Queen's golden jubilee. The Victoria Memorial is in the foreground and the Admiralty Arch in the distance is about one kilometre away. The Mall, which leads up to Buckingham Palace, is one of London’s main tourist attractions. Immediately in front of the palace is the Victoria Memorial, erected in memory of Queen Victoria (foreground of the picture to the right). At the opposite end is the Admiralty Arch which links The Mall to Trafalgar Square. The distance from the entrance to the Admiralty Arch to the centre of the Victoria Memorial is 987 m.[10] 51°30′07″N 0°08′26″W / 51.50185°N 0.14064°W / 51.50185; -0.14064 Centre of the Victoria Memorial 51°30′24″N 0°07′44″W / 51.50671°N 0.12876°W / 51.50671; -0.12876 Entrance to the Admiralty Arch

Kowloon – Hong Kong Crossing (1007 m)[link]

Hong Kong - Tsim Sha Tsui Pier. The ferry terminal on the Kowloon Peninsular, visible in the centre of the picture, is about a kilometre from the Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier. Hong Kong Harbour boasts one of the busiest waterways in the world. Until 1970 the only way to cross the harbour was the Star Ferry which had terminals on the Kowloon peninsular and the island of Hong Kong itself. The distance that the ferry travels, as measured from passenger entrance to passenger entrance is 1007 m.[10] 22°17′13″N 114°09′41″E / 22.28707°N 114.16133°E / 22.28707; 114.16133 Hong Kong (Central Star Ferry Pier) 22°17′37″N 114°10′05″E / 22.29371°N 114.16803°E / 22.29371; 114.16803 Kowloon (Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier)

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City[link]

Central Park in New York City is 849 metres wide. It extends (roughly east and west) from Fifth Avenue to Eighth Avenue (also known as Central Park West). The distance between Eighth Avenue and Madison Avenue (one block east of Fifth Avenue) is 1011 metres. The width of the park is visible from many nearby skyscrapers and is walked daily by many people.

The width of Central Park is visible from many buildings in Manhattan, and the park is walked regularly by many residents and visitors.

Suspension bridges[link]

The Tagus Bridge in Lisbon, Portugal has a central span of 1.013 km A number of suspension bridges have a central span of a kilometre or more. The George Washington Bridge in New York (central span 1067 m) was the first bridge in the world to have a span of more than a kilometre and between 1931 and 1937, had the longest span of any bridge in the world. Other bridges that have a central span of about one kilometre include: 1030 m Third Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan 1020 m Second Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan 1013 m Ponte 25 de Abril (Tagus Bridge) in Lisbon, Portugal 1006 m Forth Road Bridge in Scotland 990 m Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge (Great Seto Bridge) in Japan 988 m Severn Bridge linking England and Wales

International usage[link]

Chinese expressway distances road sign in eastern Beijing. Although the primary text is in Chinese, the distances use internationally recognised characters.

The United Kingdom and the United States are the only two developed countries which continue to use miles on road signs.^[11]

United Kingdom[link]

In the United Kingdom, road signs show distances in miles^[12][13] and location marker posts that are used for reference purposes by road engineers and emergency services show distance references in unspecified units which are kilometre-based.^[14] The advent of the mobile phone has been instrumental in the British Department for Transport authorising the use of driver location signs to convey the distance reference information of location marker posts to road users should they need to contact the emergency services.

United States[link]

In the US, the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 prohibits the use of federal-aid highway funds to convert existing signs or purchase new signs with metric units.^[15] The Executive Director of the US Federal Highway Administration, Jeffrey Paniati, wrote in a 2008 memo: "Section 205(c)(2) of the National Highway System (NHS) Designation Act of 1995 prohibited us from requiring any State DOT [Department of Transport] to use the metric system during project development activities. Although the State DOT's had the option of using metric measurements or dual units (metrics/inch-pounds), all of them abandoned metric measurements and reverted to sole use of inch-pound values."^[16] The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices since 2000 is published in both metric and American Customary Units. (See also Metrication in the United States.)

Covering one kilometre[link]

The time taken to cover a kilometre is dependent on one's speed. Walking on flat ground, a hiker can expect to cover one kilometre in 12 minutes^[17] while a car travelling at a speed of 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) — the speed limit in many European countries — will cover a kilometre in 30 seconds.

Some sporting disciplines feature 1000 m (one kilometre) races in major events (such as the Olympic Games), but in other disciplines, even though world records are catalogued, the one kilometre event remains a minority event. The world records for various sporting disciplines are:

See also[link]

Look up kilometre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Conversion of units, for comparison with other units of length
• Cubic kilometre
• Orders of magnitude (length)
• SI prefix
• Square kilometre
• 1 kilometre

Notes and references[link]

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Valentino Balboni is the former chief test driver of Lamborghini, a manufacturer of sports cars in Italy. He retired in October 2008 due to Italian government work regulations, after having served the company for 40 years.^[1] To pay tribute to him in occasion of his retirement, Lamborghini has labeled a 2009 addition to the Gallardo line-up, the LP550-2 Valentino Balboni.^[2][3]

Biography[link]

Balboni started working for Lamborghini on April 21, 1968 as a mechanic apprentice in the company.^[1][4] Eventually he was personally asked by the founder of the company, Ferruccio Lamborghini, to test-drive the newly built cars. Together with Bob Wallace, they became the test-driving team of Lamborghini. Valentino Balboni has reportedly driven about 80% of all Lamborghinis ever built. Among the marque aficionados, Balboni has risen to cult status. In 2008, Balboni was still active for the company as the chief test-driver and ambassador. Fluent in English and German, he often appeared at different Lamborghini-related events, such as the unveiling of new models.

In July 2009, Lamborghini announced a special edition run of 250 Gallardo LP550-2 "Valentino Balboni edition" supercars; the company stated that the new car was to be rear-wheel driven in accordance with Balboni's preference for the thrill of cornering a rear-wheel driven vehicle. These vehicles were also made special with a white and gold stripe that runs the center of the car, inspired by sports cars of the 1970's.

Balboni, even though officially retired as chief test driver, has signed a two year contract with Lamborghini as a consultant through 2010 that can be renewed multiple times.^[1]

Media[link]

Valentino Balboni has made several appearances on television in different documentaries related to Lamborghini such as Top Gear and Rides.

References[link]