What Does ton Mean
Ton is a term derived from barrel and that refers to a measure of mass in the International System of Units and in the 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” .
As with all measures of mass , the utility 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 that unit. Therefore, its weight should 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 the kilogram. Let us suppose that a shipment of merchandise is made that is sent from Argentina to Spain and the containers add up to 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 ).
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 long ton (which is equivalent to 1016.0469088 kilos). For Spanish yachting , the ton was the measure of capacity that was equivalent to eight cubic cubits of shore or 189.11 liters.
The term ton usually appears in the news of the press in relation to generally catastrophic or smuggling events, such as the discovery of tons of dead fish on the banks of a river or the seizure of tons of cocaine in an illegal property used by dealers drug .
Animals weighing more than a ton
Elephants
This family of placental mammals is known throughout the world, thanks to the popularity of certain cartoon characters such as Dumbo, who present them to the smallest, although with different characteristics than those they actually have, and also because of its unfortunate exploitation in circuses and zoos . These are extraordinary animals, which can exceed 10 tons and live for more than 80 years. Outside of their immense size, they stand out for having great intelligence and a complex communication system .
Killer whales
Killer whales also owe their popularity to a large extent to exploitation, in this case in water parks, although there are people who simply dedicate themselves to observing them, without threatening their freedom, as is the case of the well-known activist Roberto Bubas , who fights for the liberation 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, about 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 that these colossi do not impose more resistance to abuse.
Crocodiles
Although the largest crocodile on record weighed 1.7 tonnes and the next 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 hunting. Crocodiles can live in slow-flowing rivers or salty estuaries, and they are exceptional swimmers. Despite their ferocity, the young must go through great dangers to develop, and very few of each litter reach adulthood.