The ton is a unit of mass.
Ton is a term that derives from barrel and refers to a measurement of mass in the International System of Units and in the decimal metric system, whose symbol is t . The ton is equivalent to a weight of 1,000 kilograms .
For example: “Elephants can weigh several tons,” “The bridge inaugurated yesterday has a resistance of one hundred tons,” “Don Ricardo is very happy: this season he managed to harvest a ton of soybeans.”
Use of the ton
As with all mass measurements, the usefulness of its use will be determined by the weight of the entity in question. Indicating the weight of a human being in tons does not make sense, since no person reaches this unit. Therefore, his weight would have to be expressed in decimals (a man can weigh 80 kilograms or 0.08 tons ).
On the other hand, with much heavier objects, the ton is more appropriate than the gram or kilogram. Suppose that a shipment of merchandise is sent from Argentina to Spain and the containers total a weight of 234 tons . If you wanted to express this weight in grams, you would have to refer to a very large figure ( 234,000,000 grams ).
In press reports, the term ton usually appears in relation to generally catastrophic or smuggling events, such as the discovery of tons of dead fish on the bank of a river or the seizure of tons of cocaine on an illegal property used by drug traffickers.
An elephant can weigh more than 10 tons.
Heavier animals
Elephants
This family of placental mammals is known throughout the world, thanks to the popularity of certain cartoon characters such as Dumbo , which present them to the little ones, although with different characteristics than those they actually possess, and also because of their regrettable exploitation in circuses and zoos . These are extraordinary animals, which can exceed 10 tons and live more than 80 years. Outside of their immense size, they stand out for having great intelligence and a complex communication system .
Orcas
Orcas also owe a large part of their popularity to exploitation, in this case in water parks, although there are people who simply dedicate themselves to observing them, without attacking their freedom, as is the case of the well-known activist Roberto Bubas , who fights for release of these incredible animals . Although the mental image that many people may have of an orca is much larger than that of an elephant, its average weight is around 5.5 tons, approximately half of the latter. If we consider that the weight of a normal person does not reach a tenth of a ton, it becomes very difficult to understand why these colossi do not impose more resistance to abuse.
Crocodiles
Although the largest crocodile on record weighed 1.7 tons and the next one did not reach half that weight, it is an animal especially feared by humans, given its immense mouth, its enormous strength and its ability to hunt. Crocodiles can live in slow-flowing rivers or salty estuaries, and are exceptional swimmers. Despite their ferocity, the young must endure great dangers to develop, and very few of each litter reach adulthood.
Other types of tons
It should be noted that the notion of ton can refer to other units of mass. In the avoirdupois system , one can speak of a short ton (equivalent to 907.18474 kilograms ) or a long ton (equivalent to 1016.0469088 kilos).
For Spanish nautical industry, finally, the ton was the measure of capacity that was equivalent to eight cubic cubits of riverbank or 189.11 liters.