# Miles to Thou (mi to thou)

Source: https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/miles-to-thou/

**1 mi = 63360000 thou**

One mile equals exactly 63,360,000 thou (mils). Since 1 mile = 63,360 inches and 1 inch = 1,000 thou, multiply by 1,000. The mile measures road distances; the thou measures precision engineering tolerances.

## Formula

Convert Miles to Thou

## Conversion Table

| Miles (mi) | Thou (thou) |
|---|---|
| 1.0E-8 mi | 0.6336 thou |
| 1.0E-7 mi | 6.336 thou |
| 1.0E-6 mi | 63.36 thou |
| 1.0E-5 mi | 633.6 thou |
| 0.0001 mi | 6336 thou |
| 0.001 mi | 63360 thou |
| 0.01 mi | 633600 thou |
| 0.1 mi | 6336000 thou |
| 1 mi | 63360000 thou |
| 10 mi | 633600000 thou |
| 100 mi | 6336000000 thou |

## Units

### Mile (mi)

An imperial unit of length equal to 5,280 feet or approximately 1.609 kilometers. The standard unit for road distances in the US and UK.

### Thou (thou)

One thousandth of an inch (0.0254 mm). Also called a mil in the US. Used in engineering, manufacturing, and for measuring thin materials like plastic film.

## Background

A mile is 63.36 million thou. A coat of paint (3 thou) is about 4.73 x 10-8 miles thick. These units span 8 orders of magnitude within the same imperial system.

## Good to Know

The mile and thou represent the extreme ends of the imperial length system: the largest commonly used unit (road distances) and the smallest (engineering tolerances). The imperial system spans about 8 orders of magnitude from thou to mile, compared to metric's 12 orders from micrometer to kilometer.

## FAQ

### How many thou are in 1 mile?

One mile contains exactly 63,360,000 thou (63,360 inches x 1,000 thou/inch).

### How many miles is 1 thou?

One thou equals approximately 1.578 x 10-8 miles.

### Is this conversion practical?

Not directly. Miles and thou serve completely different measurement purposes within the imperial system.

## Non-Frequently Asked Questions

### How many paint coats thick is a mile?

At 3 thou per coat, a mile (63.36 million thou) is about 21.1 million paint coats. If each coat takes 4 hours to dry, painting a mile takes about 9,653 years. Some home renovation projects feel like this.

### How many business cards thick is a mile?

A business card is about 14 thou (0.014 inches) thick. A mile (63.36 million thou) is about 4.53 million business cards. At 250 cards per box, that is 18,108 boxes. Your networking strategy might be excessive.

### Is the thou the smallest unit in the imperial system?

No. The microinch (0.001 thou = 0.000001 inches = 0.0254 um) is smaller. Surface finish specs use microinches. But the thou is the smallest COMMONLY used imperial unit. Below a thou, most Americans switch to metric micrometers.

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## See Also

- [Thou to Miles](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/thou-to-miles/)