Weights & Measures

Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : Weights & Measures
Message board moderation

To post messages, you must log in.

AuthorMessage
Profile soft^spirit
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 18 May 99
Posts: 6497
Credit: 34,134,168
RAC: 0
United States
Message 1143894 - Posted: 22 Aug 2011, 16:39:36 UTC - in response to Message 1143888.  

few that order a pint and get a half liter will complain.

I have a place for both, but I still do not understand why half of my computer screws are metric and the other half are not.

And to further complicate things, there are differences is content from a U.S. Gallon and an Imperial Gallon. Measuring cups/spoons I could not convert to metric.. Ahh we just have a large mess on our hands.
Janice
ID: 1143894 · Report as offensive
Profile tullio
Volunteer tester

Send message
Joined: 9 Apr 04
Posts: 8797
Credit: 2,930,782
RAC: 1
Italy
Message 1143901 - Posted: 22 Aug 2011, 16:44:23 UTC

I think NASA has promised to go metric in a few years, but I can't remember the exact date. Anyway, all scientific papers, review articles and scientific books use the SI system now.Even microelectronics uses nanometers.
Tullio
ID: 1143901 · Report as offensive
Profile SciManStev Crowdfunding Project Donor*Special Project $75 donorSpecial Project $250 donor
Volunteer tester
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 20 Jun 99
Posts: 6652
Credit: 121,090,076
RAC: 0
United States
Message 1143902 - Posted: 22 Aug 2011, 16:44:43 UTC

This might help a little bit.

http://joshmadison.com/convert-for-windows/

Steve
Warning, addicted to SETI crunching!
Crunching as a member of GPU Users Group.
GPUUG Website
ID: 1143902 · Report as offensive
Profile Bob DeWoody
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 9 May 10
Posts: 3387
Credit: 4,182,900
RAC: 10
United States
Message 1144071 - Posted: 22 Aug 2011, 21:30:36 UTC

About 25 years ago following a Federal mandate the State of Florida was in the process of converting all state road projects to the metric system. The company that I worked for was caught up in the middle and we began converting our scales to metric and switching to metric units in our CAD programs. The counties and most private clients would not go along with the switch over. then the state went to the Federal Highway Administration to get funding to make the switch and the Feds said no. So the state promptly canned the switch and went back to English units. In civil engineering it is even weirder because they use feet and tenths of feet instead of inches, but on bridge plans they use architectural units which is feet, inches and fractions of inches down to 1/64".
Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.
ID: 1144071 · Report as offensive
Profile William Rothamel
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 25 Oct 06
Posts: 3756
Credit: 1,999,735
RAC: 4
United States
Message 1144167 - Posted: 23 Aug 2011, 2:47:38 UTC - in response to Message 1144075.  
Last modified: 23 Aug 2011, 2:48:52 UTC

As a former stock trader I also could decipher 32nds to the exact decimal. Now of course we went away from all that.

The Brits also have added to the muddle --for those of us who owned an "English Bike" in the good old days. You had to deal with the Whitworth system. I even had some wrenches that were Whitworth (spanners for you blokes). My son has a Raleigh now--I think they went Metric--so sad to say.

I do think that we should all preserve the "Proper Pint" of 20 fluid ounces. In Canada I would try to do two of these with Newcastle Brown Ale. Met a British Nurse in Teheran who claimed to ride her motor scooter to lunch each day and had three pints back in London.

In Canada they would bring the shot glass to the table for some odd reason if you ordered a highball--it was 50 ML. Same with the Airline booze bottles.

Still always puzzle over the troy ounce of Gold which is much heavier than an avoirdupois ounce. I think it comes from Apothecary measure--drams etc
ID: 1144167 · Report as offensive
Profile soft^spirit
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 18 May 99
Posts: 6497
Credit: 34,134,168
RAC: 0
United States
Message 1144169 - Posted: 23 Aug 2011, 2:56:19 UTC - in response to Message 1143903.  

Hi Soft :-)

few that order a pint and get a half liter will complain.

1/2 litre = 0.88 pints. If I paid for a pint I WOULD complain !!

In time to come the SI system is likely to be adopted worldwide, as it does seem to be the most popular system, and is on base 10, not 12 or 16, so I suppose logically it will happen. I am just happy with what I grew up with.

Take money, in negotiations to purchase an item, it was often a clincher when a certain amount of pounds sterling were offered, to say "Make it Guineas old boy, and we'll shake on it." Errrmmm, I'll offer you another 100 Euro just doesn't quite have the same ring to it does it .....


1 Liter = 1.05668821 Quarts [US]
Here... we do not complain. 1/2 liter is more than a US pint.

Janice
ID: 1144169 · Report as offensive
Profile soft^spirit
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 18 May 99
Posts: 6497
Credit: 34,134,168
RAC: 0
United States
Message 1144171 - Posted: 23 Aug 2011, 2:59:07 UTC - in response to Message 1144167.  

ahh the Troy oz.. approx 30 grams vs the typical 28g/oz.
I learned that back in my younger dumberer days.
Janice
ID: 1144171 · Report as offensive
Profile skildude
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 4 Oct 00
Posts: 9541
Credit: 50,759,529
RAC: 60
Yemen
Message 1144178 - Posted: 23 Aug 2011, 3:34:56 UTC - in response to Message 1144171.  

IIRC the troy ounce weighs more because it takes into account impurities in fine metals such as gold and silver.


In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope
ID: 1144178 · Report as offensive
Profile Bob DeWoody
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 9 May 10
Posts: 3387
Credit: 4,182,900
RAC: 10
United States
Message 1144223 - Posted: 23 Aug 2011, 6:34:33 UTC - in response to Message 1144075.  

Bob, as an apprentice toolmaker in the 1960's, I grew up with 1/32" and 1/64" they are as common to me as the air I breathe.

Being a former math teacher before switching to a career that paid something I had no problems with fractions or converting them. But for some converting dimensions from a set of bridge plans to decimal feet on roadway plans was a real chore.
Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.
ID: 1144223 · Report as offensive
Profile William Rothamel
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 25 Oct 06
Posts: 3756
Credit: 1,999,735
RAC: 4
United States
Message 1144257 - Posted: 23 Aug 2011, 11:02:34 UTC - in response to Message 1144255.  
Last modified: 23 Aug 2011, 11:03:10 UTC

" A pint's a pound the world around"

Not any more

We in the US never did get a pint. Beer here is sold in 12 oz bottles and cans . You could get a 16 oz can but they were not in the mainstream.

I sold beer at our Pro Football games here in Nashville to raise money for my daughter's travel softball team. Fosters and Heinekens had 25,3 and 26.4 cans if I remember right. We got $9.00 for one of them.
ID: 1144257 · Report as offensive

Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : Weights & Measures


 
©2024 University of California
 
SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.