Convert gram to milligram

What is a gram?

During ancient times, our predecessors were constantly looking for some standards for mass determination. It was easy and practical to evaluate mass in comparison with some grains or seeds of plants. Then, they were replaced by coins made of different metals.

However, not all these options were precise and they also differed in counties and regions. These were the reasons for the development of a gram as a unified option in the 18th century. According to the definition, 1 g was equal to the mass of 1 cm3 of distilled water. The measurement must be made at 4 °C temperature and one atmosphere pressure.

Later, grams were replaced by kilograms as a new more convenient standard. For them, a special object was created for comparison and determination of mass. Still, grams were also left for measurements and nowadays 1 gm is considered as 1/1000 of a kg.

What is a milligram?

A milligram is a tiny option for a mass determination that is not very common in everyday life. We need to remind ourselves what grams are to find out milligrams' meaning because milligrams are considered as their fraction.

The idea of grams comes from France, where it was first proposed in the 18th century. Later, it was replaced by kilograms as a standard and more convenient option. However, grams remained in usage as 1/1000 fraction of kilograms.

Moreover, they have their own fractional units, namely:

• milligrams or mg — 10−3 g;
• micrograms or μg — 10−6 g;
• nanograms or ng — 10−9 g;
• pictograms or pg — 10-12 g.

Thus, one gram contains 1000 milligrams or, vice versa, 1 mg is 1/1000 fraction of a gram. Such tiny values are rarely utilized in everyday life. However, scientists require them and perform measurements with highly precise scales and determination of mass up to pictograms.