Metrication advocates are at it again

One good argument that we should not switch over to the metric system is that the whole system was devised by the French. They have made a c*ck up of most things and this is no exception.

Nobody *has* to learn anything new. Nobody, least of all the government, is requiring anything of the sort. No disadvantages of any sort are being forced on *anyone* anywhere. This is why the issue, as I've already stated, is entirely completely 100% certainly pointless and moot. A dead parrot. There is no need to consider any forced disadvantages because there are none. None. They don't exist. If they did exist, they would involve some other concept.

Nobody is holding a combination hangun/metric micrometer to anyone's head, anywhere in the country. If they were, gunner would have mentioned it by now.

Jim

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I'm probably one of the many (but dwindling) number of people who were educated in imperial measurements but have since switched to metric.

Fortunately for me, this means I can work with either system, although for engineering purposes I much prefer to use metric -- especially now that digital calipers are often cheaper than vernier ones and I dislike having to perform mental gymnastics to calculate the decimal equivalent of measurements such as 5/64ths of an inch :-)

However, having said that -- I still ask for 1 inch RHS, four-bytwos (that's two-by-fours for you US-types), and 8'x4' sheets of stainless (rather than 2400x1200mm ones).

All my tooling (milling cutters, drill bits, etc) are metric but I have a full set of metric and imperial taps and dies.

-- you can contact me via

Industries use Si when it is part of their industry. I have used Si and was a pre Si user as well. Physics is in Si - three versions of metric. Si simply states the basic unit and only in 1 standard mKS meter-kilogram-second not cgs - centimeter-gram-second.

We normally deal in three or four dimensions also. X,Y,Z,Time. I have (as others here) dealt with r-theta-time and other strange coordinates.

Many items are metric and simply state the 'inch/...' size.

Buy a quart of Coke today - you can't. Buy a fifth of whiskey - you can't.

Martin

I agree that metric is a much more coherent and logical system, and therefore better. However- and I am not american, nor did I learn imperial first- there are things for which I find the imperial system easier to use. One such thing is handloading ammunition, where powder charges are measured in grains. It's much easier to remember a figure in whole grains than umpteen decimal figures in grams, for some reason.

Also, backwards compatibility is important. Even in metric countries there are lots of old stuff, or new stuff made to old standards, that will need servicing for centuries to come. How can one maintain these things if imperial tools and parts are not available? It might not be the best deal for you guys, but for us here in europe it is very nice that the US still makes tools and parts to obsolete standards so that we can keep our antiques in repair ;-)

BTW I have an old british-made lathe that is absolutely horrible to use, because it is a "metric" lathe made with imperial threads and dimensions almost everywhere but the leadscrews. It cannot easily cut imperial threads to replace worn-out parts, unless I leave the feed engaged and hand-crank the bloody thing back and forth. So far I've spent more time replacing worn bits on the lathe than making anything else, because noone makes metrimperial frankenparts that will fit any more. The toolpost is attached to the compound with a bizarre bolt that is threaded 11mm X 20tpi on one end and M6 on the other- WTF were the makers thinking?

So, obviusly, I agree that mixing systems is a very bad thing indeed. But that doesn't mean we should throw a perfectly functional system of measurement out the window.

-- Aamund Breivik

I remember touring in the middle 60's and buying Imperial quarts of oil and Imperial gallons. Those really did a fit in the brain - Imperial quart is so much larger that one waits to long to add oil or over oils or gives the partial can back to the dealer.

Such as it was from The Great Lakes to Vancouver by way of the inner mountain road that leads north from Calgary.

Fun trip in the Imperial days.

Martin

Beg pardon - there are plenty - plenty of Metric first - never heard of growing up at home ? - Plenty of those that came here and had children were into metric and their kids knew metric first. That is called Ellis Island etc...

Martin

The Mars Lander is up there in Metric. Done by Engineers and Scientists that learned Imperial at home and school, learned and studied Metric under degree programs.

We don't measure I.C.'s in yards ! A Micron is a Micrometer.

Check out ISBN 0780310500 A nice Metric Unit and Conversion Charts - nice tables..... paper back - by the IEEE press.

Martin IEEE

......... na..thats way too easy.....

Gunner

"Gun Control, the theory that a 110lb grandmother should fist fight a 250lb 19yr old criminal"

Martin

Abrasha wrote:

To the tune of "several hundred" HP on a 2000 HP engine? Considering that the Rolls Royce folks probably didn't build engines that rattled when you shook them?

The Merlins grew more and more powerful, rapidly, throughout the war. I'm sure that includes the American production line.

-tih

ROFLMAO!!! How long did it take you to find it?

Gunner

"Gun Control, the theory that a 110lb grandmother should fist fight a 250lb 19yr old criminal"

When an auto company that we supplied with stamped parts went metric in the 70's, it took us by surprise. No communication. During the couple of months it took to change press feeder encoders, different dro's, etc, it was a real mess. I still have .03937 imbedded in my memory.

Jim Kovar Vulcan, Mi

He was correct. I still have unpleasant thoughts of cranking the ol' "snortin norton" around on a twisty road one night and the lights went out.

Jim Kovar Vulcan, Mi

You do if you want to fit in in the modern world.

On 3 Jan 2004 08:16:12 -0800, jim rozen brought forth from the murky depths:

Well, I wish they had back when it was inexpensive to do so. Y'know, before Political Correctness, Mandated Self-Esteem, Diversity, Attorneys-as-Gods, and all that other good stuff.

True. I can't imagine hearing a horse race called out in metres. "And Citizen's Wrath is ahead by 2.17935 meters..." (Spelled both ways for diversity.)

======================================================== TANSTAAFL: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.