Convert Kiloton (Metric) (kt) to Ton (Assay) (US) (AT (US)) instantly.
About these units
Kiloton (Metric) (kt)
A kiloton, equal to 1,000 metric tons, is used in large-scale industrial, geological, and agricultural contexts. However, the term is better known for expressing explosive yields, particularly of nuclear weapons. Scientists estimate the energy release of explosions by comparing them to the detonation of 1,000 tons of TNT. For example, the Hiroshima bomb had a yield of about 15 kilotons. Outside military contexts, kilotons appear in discussions of carbon emissions, waste production, and global resource extraction. They provide a manageable scale for describing quantities too large for tons but not yet at the megaton level.
Ton (Assay) (US) (AT (US))
The US assay ton is a specialized unit used in mining and metallurgy for evaluating ore grades. It is defined as 29.166⅔ grams, a very small mass chosen to simplify calculations relating assay results to tons of ore. The idea is that if an assay ton of sample yields 1 milligram of precious metal, then one actual ton of ore contains 1 ounce of that metal. This scaling makes laboratory results directly translatable to mining yields. While obsolete in modern industrial practice, where metric units dominate, the assay ton remains important in historical mining records and for researchers studying early industrial metallurgy.