Do we know what system of units are used in-universe throughout the Star Wars series?

Do we know what system of units are used in-universe throughout the Star Wars series? - Radio telescope under bright starry sky

Most of the planet Earth uses the Metric System of units (grams, metres, seconds, litres and many others) to quantify the dimensions of time and space. Do we have any definitive evidence as to the units of measure used by the characters throughout the Star Wars Universe?

I recognise that there's a whole lot of reference material within the whole universe of Star Wars. I'd prefer canon sources, but if that's not conclusive, other sources are fine.



Best Answer

Ignoring all books and Extended Universe stuff, which isn't canon anymore anyways, and possibly the few other canon things like comics, and sticking solely with the movies.

Han Solo famously said 'parsec' at some point in his life.

Which is defined in this galaxy as:

One parsec is the distance at which one astronomical unit subtends an angle of one arcsecond. A parsec is equivalent to 3.26 light years, and since a light year is the distance light travels in 1 year 9.4 trillion km, 1 parsec equals 30.8 trillion km.

So assuming that Han is one with the great and mighty metric system and the rest of the galaxy is too and their definition of a parsec is the same as our own and doesn't use average gerbil penis' as a base unit of measurement.

On top of this, there is from the script of Star Wars: A New Hope the description of the exhaust port for the Death Star and wamp rats being described by Dodonna and Luke:

DODONNA

The approach will not be easy. You are required to maneuver straight down this trench and skim the surface to this point. The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the station.

...

LUKE

It's not impossible. I used to bull's- eye womp rats in my T-sixteen back home. They're not much bigger than two meters.

Then we can say that metric the definitive measurement system, unless there is a another quote of measurement of a different unit system from the films, I am aware of no other character specifically mentioning any other SI base unit or any other, other system.




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What units of measurement are used in Star Wars?

Parsecs are actually units of distance, not time\u2014and they exist in real life, not just in the Star Wars universe. (Sorry, Han.) In the way that miles or kilometers are used to measure distances on Earth, parsecs are used to measure distances between objects like stars in our galaxy and between galaxies.

How do they measure speed in Star Wars?

The Star Wars parsec appears to be equivalent to the real-world measurement: The Essential Atlas says a parsec is 3.26 light-years. The "Decoded" version of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Dooku Captured" says that six parsecs equals about 114 trillion miles, making one parsec about 19 trillion miles.

How do they measure weight in Star Wars?

Mass & Weight
  • 1 microgram.
  • 1 milligram.
  • 1 Coruscant Standard Carat.
  • 1 carat.
  • 1 gram.
  • 1 ket = 1 gram.
  • 1 kilogram.
  • 1 metric ton = 1,000 kilograms.




  • How Long is a Year in Star Wars? | The IN-UNIVERSE Year Explained




    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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