Posted by RAB on December 20, 2008 at 02:19:09 from (195.93.21.10):
In Reply to: The Metric System posted by John B. on December 19, 2008 at 17:45:15:
You say:<<>>. There is only 10% difference between a yard and a metre, so it can't be that difficult!!
I have been metric since I was about 11. We had (and still have) Imperial measurements. But at school science taught me that metric was the way to go. Still, I did learn all the Imperial units and am experienced enough to recognise and understand the overwhelming advantages of metrication.
How do Americans weigh small amounts of substances for science? In ounces and grains? Or in grams and milligrams? Your pharmaceuticals, for instance?
In the EU they have just changed (clarified) the legislation so that pounds and ounces can still be used legally.
Some street traders say ounces is straight forward because it is a pound halved, then halved, then halved, then halved again. Simple!
They forget to mention 14 pounds in a stone and all the other stupid unit conversions. At least most people can divide or multiply by ten!!
There were ten months in a year before the Romans added an extra two for the Caesars Julius and Augustus. That is why sept(7)ember Oct(8)ober. Nov(9)ember and Dec(10)ember are in the wrong places!!
The Romans probably thought it a good change as the moon changed about once a month (for a twelve month year) - actually would have been better for thirteen months but who would have wanted that!
360 degrees in a circle was chosen by the Greeks as 360 was a special number in that it had so many factors(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, etc).
Most serious maths now uses 'Radians' which, while a peculiar number of degrees, at least includes that awkward constant 'Pi'.
Difficult to metricate time. The Earth travels once around the Sun each year while revolving 365 plus 1/4 less 1/400th times on it's own axis (a day).
We have now fixed the velocity of light (no more improvements in that experiment!), which seems on the surface to be good, or bad, depending on how one views the subject, but that is what has been decided at this point in time.
Of course, since Einstein time and space (independently) have had litle meaning.
I used to use calories as a thermal unit (one calorie raises the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degee centigrade (Celsius now). OK before that there were BTU's. I now use Joules because they are universally used for energy in mechanics, thermal calculations, etc, etc. I just have to remember there are 4.18 joules needed to raise 1 g of water by 1K (1 degree Celsius).
Kelvin (K) is much more useful as a temperature measurement as it measures the relative amount of kinetic energy in a body (it has none at zero K).
Celsius is a good basic measurement for temperature even though many cannot give up weather temps in Fahrenheit (a purely arbitary scale chosen 'cos 'zero degrees F was the lowest temperature attainable' in the laboratory at the time he invented it!!)and was really just a modified Reamer scale.
Not read all the replies below, but I am metricated. I can still convert with relative ease, but am contented with the straight forward and easily interconnected energy transfers.
Weight in metric is the kilogram (kg) and should be the Newton (N). The kg is the unit of mass, not weight (it only works on this planet), but that is a minor irritation we all have to put up with when trying to get the most user-friendly system to be accepted by most of the World.
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