Convert drams to grams without breaking a sweat
1 dr x 1.7718452 = 1.7718452 g
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Ever found yourself squinting at an old recipe calling for "2 drams of saffron" or puzzled by archery equipment specs listing arrow weights in dr? You're not alone. While grams dominate modern measurements, drams cling to life in specialized corners. Let's unravel this vintage unit and make conversions feel like second nature.
Unit definitions
What is a dram (dr)?
- Description: A tiny weight unit from the avoirdupois system, often overshadowed by ounces and pounds
- Symbol: dr
- Common uses: Measuring arrow weights, precious metals, and in historical pharmaceutical formulas
- Definition: 1/16 of an ounce or 1/256 of a pound
What is a gram (g)?
- Description: The metric system's building block for mass, universally recognized
- Symbol: g
- Common uses: Cooking measurements, scientific experiments, and product labeling
- Definition: 1/1000 of a kilogram, tied to the International Prototype Kilogram kept in France
Conversion formula
The magic equation connecting these units: grams = drams × 1.7718452
For those who enjoy number crunching: multiply your dram value by approximately 1.7718 to get grams. Want drams from grams? Flip the formula: drams = grams ÷ 1.7718452
Example calculations
- Your grandmother's brooch weighs 3.5 drams. In grams: 3.5 dr × 1.7718452 = 6.2014583g → 6.2015g (rounded to 4 decimals)
- A vintage medicine bottle lists 8 drams of powder. Modern equivalent: 8 dr × 1.7718452 = 14.1747616g → 14.1748g
Conversion tables
Drams to grams
| Drams | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.7718 |
| 2 | 3.5437 |
| 3 | 5.3155 |
| 4 | 7.0874 |
| 5 | 8.8592 |
| 6 | 10.6311 |
| 7 | 12.4029 |
| 8 | 14.1748 |
| 9 | 15.9466 |
| 10 | 17.7185 |
Grams to drams
| Grams | Drams |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.5644 |
| 2 | 1.1288 |
| 5 | 2.8219 |
| 10 | 5.6438 |
| 20 | 11.2876 |
| 50 | 28.2191 |
| 100 | 56.4383 |
Historical background
The dram's story starts with ancient Greek coinage—the drachma. Medieval apothecarys adopted it for measuring medicinal powders. While most countries switched to metric, the dram stuck around in peculiar places. Fun detail: The British Weights and Measures Act of 1878 officially defined the dram, but by then grams were already stealing the show worldwide.
Interesting facts....
- Archery quirk: Arrow weights in drams help calculate arrow speed—9 grains per dram is a common ratio
- Firearm heritage: Black powder charges were often measured in drams until the 20th century
- Literary cameo: Shakespeare mentions drams in The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Pharmacy holdout: Some compounding pharmacies still use dram symbols in formulas
- Liquid paradox: Fluid drams exist too—exactly 1/8 of a fluid ounce
FAQ
Drams are still used in niche fields like jewelry making, herbal medicine, and antique recipe restoration where historical measurements matter.
Divide the gram value by 1.7718452. For example, 10 grams ÷ 1.7718452 ≈ 5.64 drams.
Not as primary units, but you might encounter them in US customary measurements for small weight specifications.
No—fluid drams measure volume, while weight drams measure mass. They share a name but serve different purposes.
Archery (arrow weights), pharmacology (historic formulas), and antique collecting often reference drams.