Unit Conversion in Engineering: Practical Patterns and Pitfalls

Unit conversion looks trivial until inconsistent rules cause subtle bugs in calculations, UI, and APIs. This guide organizes common conversions, patterns, and verification steps for reliable engineering results.

Core Areas

• Length & mass: metric vs imperial
• Temperature: Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin
• Data prefixes: kB vs KiB, MB vs MiB

Best Practices

• Centralize conversion logic
• Use exact ratios and avoid floating drift
• Expose units to users, not just numbers

Tools

Use the Unit Converter to verify conversions and explore edge cases.