Editing Decametre (section)

{{Short description|Unit of length}}
{{Infobox unit
| image    = Container Augsburg.jpg
| caption  = A stack of {{convert|12.2|m|dam|abbr=off|adj=mid|-long}} [[intermodal container]]s
| symbol   = dam
| standard = [[SI]]
| quantity = [[length]]
| units1   = [[SI base units]]
| inunits1 = {{val|10|ul=m}}
| units2   = [[imperial units|imperial]]/[[US customary units|US]]&nbsp;units
| inunits2 = {{convert|1|dam|yd|disp=out|comma=gaps|lk=on|sigfig=5}}<br /><!--
    --> {{convert|1|dam|in|disp=out|comma=gaps|lk=on|sigfig=5}}
}}
{{Wiktionary|decametre}}
A '''decametre''' ([[American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er|International spelling]] as used by the [[International Bureau of Weights and Measures]] and by most English speaking countries,<ref name="bipm-prefix-spelling">{{cite web|url=https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure/chapter3.html|title=Decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units|year=2006|publisher=SI Brochure: The International System of Units (SI)|edition=8th|access-date=2019-01-14|archive-date=2019-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330005801/https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure/chapter3.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bipm-metre-spelling">{{cite web|url=https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure/metre.html|title=Unit of length (metre)|year=2006|work=SI Brochure: The International System of Units (SI)|edition=8th|access-date=2019-01-14|archive-date=2019-03-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301070954/https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure/metre.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er|United States spelling]] '''dekameter''' or '''decameter'''<ref name="american-spelling">{{cite journal|url=https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811/nist-guide-si-chapter-4-two-classes-si-units-and-si-prefixes|title=The Two Classes of SI Units and the SI Prefixes|journal=NIST |year=2008|publisher=The NIST Guide for the Use of the International System of Units}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/decametre |title=Decametre definition and meaning |website=Collins Dictionary|access-date= 27 July 2020}}</ref>), symbol '''dam''' ("da" for the [[SI prefix]] ''[[deca-]]'',<ref name="bipm-prefix-spelling"/> "m" for the [[SI]] unit [[metre]]), is a [[unit of length]] in the [[International System of Units]] (SI) equal to ten metres.

While any combination of SI prefix and unit can be used, many are rarely used in practice; the decametre is used less frequently than other units of length. One practical use is for altitude of [[geopotential height]]s in meteorology. The volumetric form ''cubic decametre'' is convenient for describing large volumes of water such as in rivers and lakes;{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} a volume of one cubic decametre (dam<sup>3</sup>) is equivalent to a capacity of one megalitre (ML).

One [[technical atmosphere]] is the pressure of one decametre of water. Also, the [[are (unit)|are]] (a), a metric unit for land [[area]], is equal to one square decametre (dam<sup>2</sup>).