I am 64. I was taught imperial measures. The only one I can’t shake is Fahrenheit. All other measures I’m fine with - distance, weight, volume etc. But I haven’t a clue what Celsius temperatures mean but know exactly what temperature in Fahrenheit mean. I’m told that 22c is lovely but ??? If I’m told 70f however I know it’s good weather and the vest should be discarded!
Wrong! 1 US pint is 16 US fl oz, or 16.65 imperial fl oz, or 0.83 imperial pint. And since the US fluid gallon holds 8 US pints, it is only 0.83 of an imperial gallon...
It's rumoured that one of the US Mars spacecraft crash landed because of confusions in units in which it and its trajectory were being measured; an expensive mistake if true.
You beat me to it.
It wasn't a rumour, it was a fact.
NASA lost its $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter because spacecraft engineers failed to convert from English to metric measurements when exchanging vital data before the craft was launched, space agency officials said Thursday.
A navigation team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory used the metric system of millimeters and meters in its calculations, while Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, which designed and built the spacecraft, provided crucial acceleration data in the English system of inches, feet and pounds.
“That is so dumb,” said John Logsdon, director of George Washington University’s space policy institute.
I am 64. I was taught imperial measures. The only one I can’t shake is Fahrenheit. All other measures I’m fine with - distance, weight, volume etc. But I haven’t a clue what Celsius temperatures mean but know exactly what temperature in Fahrenheit mean. I’m told that 22c is lovely but ??? If I’m told 70f however I know it’s good weather and the vest should be discarded!
Surely Celsius is pretty simple? Under normal conditions water freezes at 0 and boils at 100 - that’s pretty much all you need to know. Seems much more straightforward than the random madness of Fahrenheit?
I use both imperial and metric measurements in my job. It shouldn’t make any difference, it’s only a unit of measurement. The only part of imperial measuring that annoys me is American screw threads. There seems very little rhyme or reason to them compared to a very logical ISO threads. Anyone know what dimensions a No.2 X 56 unf pilister head are without looking it up on a chart?
It does though, as soon as you have to go beyond measuring basic lengths and volumes, and start factoring in pressures, forces, energy and so on. Because all the SI units are defined in relation to a bunch of basic standard measurements, then doing calculations based on those measurements is relatively straightforward, while if you're doing it in imperial you risk introducing inaccuracies due to having to use conversion factors. And that's before we get onto the joys of having to check whether the specific non-SI unit you're using is the US rather than the UK one with the same name but a slightly different size.
I am 64. I was taught imperial measures. The only one I can’t shake is Fahrenheit. All other measures I’m fine with - distance, weight, volume etc. But I haven’t a clue what Celsius temperatures mean but know exactly what temperature in Fahrenheit mean. I’m told that 22c is lovely but ??? If I’m told 70f however I know it’s good weather and the vest should be discarded!
Surely Celsius is pretty simple? Under normal conditions water freezes at 0 and boils at 100 - that’s pretty much all you need to know. Seems much more straightforward than the random madness of Fahrenheit?
I suppose it’s what you grow up with partly. As I said Fahrenheit is the only measure I can’t move on from.
I am 64. I was taught imperial measures. The only one I can’t shake is Fahrenheit. All other measures I’m fine with - distance, weight, volume etc. But I haven’t a clue what Celsius temperatures mean but know exactly what temperature in Fahrenheit mean. I’m told that 22c is lovely but ??? If I’m told 70f however I know it’s good weather and the vest should be discarded!
Surely Celsius is pretty simple? Under normal conditions water freezes at 0 and boils at 100 - that’s pretty much all you need to know. Seems much more straightforward than the random madness of Fahrenheit?
I suppose it’s what you grow up with partly. As I said Fahrenheit is the only measure I can’t move on from.
No I get it (and it doesn’t really matter) but of all the “new” measurements Celsius as a metric for temperature seems the most straightforward.
I use both imperial and metric measurements in my job. It shouldn’t make any difference, it’s only a unit of measurement. The only part of imperial measuring that annoys me is American screw threads. There seems very little rhyme or reason to them compared to a very logical ISO threads. Anyone know what dimensions a No.2 X 56 unf pilister head are without looking it up on a chart?
It does though, as soon as you have to go beyond measuring basic lengths and volumes, and start factoring in pressures, forces, energy and so on. Because all the SI units are defined in relation to a bunch of basic standard measurements, then doing calculations based on those measurements is relatively straightforward, while if you're doing it in imperial you risk introducing inaccuracies due to having to use conversion factors. And that's before we get onto the joys of having to check whether the specific non-SI unit you're using is the US rather than the UK one with the same name but a slightly different size.
I stand corrected and acknowledge he is 100% correct. But I was coming from a rather more basic day to day level and not going to Mars. If you said your knob was 2 inches long or you said your knob is 50 mm long you basically know and can visualise how long or short your knob is, it’s about the same either way. It’s only when you need to impress or try to get a bit anal would try telling 2 inches is bigger and not the same as 50mm.
I use both imperial and metric measurements in my job. It shouldn’t make any difference, it’s only a unit of measurement. The only part of imperial measuring that annoys me is American screw threads. There seems very little rhyme or reason to them compared to a very logical ISO threads. Anyone know what dimensions a No.2 X 56 unf pilister head are without looking it up on a chart?
It does though, as soon as you have to go beyond measuring basic lengths and volumes, and start factoring in pressures, forces, energy and so on. Because all the SI units are defined in relation to a bunch of basic standard measurements, then doing calculations based on those measurements is relatively straightforward, while if you're doing it in imperial you risk introducing inaccuracies due to having to use conversion factors. And that's before we get onto the joys of having to check whether the specific non-SI unit you're using is the US rather than the UK one with the same name but a slightly different size.
I stand corrected and acknowledge he is 100% correct. But I was coming from a rather more basic day to day level and not going to Mars. If you said your knob was 2 inches long or you said your knob is 50 mm long you basically know and can visualise how long or short your knob is, it’s about the same either way. It’s only when you need to impress or try to get a bit anal would try telling 2 inches is bigger and not the same as 50mm.
I think we've got it about right. Metric is used for science and (most) business. Individuals are free to use whatever makes sense to them. Keep teaching metric in schools as that is the international standard - and for very good reasons.
I expect the imperial measures to wither away. Like the line, the oxgang, and the wey, eventually pounds, ounces and Fahrenheit will become nothing but historical curiosities. Not all at the same time though and not in my lifetime.
I'm old school and still use imperial for measurements. Incidentally a penalty spot is 12 yards, area 18 yards and 10 yards for a free kick. Is that right or is it now 12 18 and 10 metres
I'm old school and still use imperial for measurements. Incidentally a penalty spot is 12 yards, area 18 yards and 10 yards for a free kick. Is that right or is it now 12 18 and 10 metres
I'm old school and still use imperial for measurements. Incidentally a penalty spot is 12 yards, area 18 yards and 10 yards for a free kick. Is that right or is it now 12 18 and 10 metres
Still yards.
Still yards in England, but worldwide they use metres which is why we are historically shit at pens in tournaments.
Some of you gents may be happy to quote your vital statistics in metric, but I absolutely and categorically refuse to acknowledge even to myself what my bra size is in cm!! Maybe the younger generation of women feel differently?
So, men, is your ideal woman 5 ft 5 inches tall & 36-24-36? Or 165 cm tall & 91-61-91? (Neither is me, in case you are wondering!!)
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The only one I can’t shake is Fahrenheit.
All other measures I’m fine with - distance, weight, volume etc. But I haven’t a clue what Celsius temperatures mean but know exactly what temperature in Fahrenheit mean. I’m told that 22c is lovely but ??? If I’m told 70f however I know it’s good weather and the vest should be discarded!
It wasn't a rumour, it was a fact.
NASA lost its $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter because spacecraft engineers failed to convert from English to metric measurements when exchanging vital data before the craft was launched, space agency officials said Thursday.
“That is so dumb,” said John Logsdon, director of George Washington University’s space policy institute.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-01-mn-17288-story.html
Huge credit to John Logsdon, for getting the line "This is so dumb" quoted in a major newspaper #NotAllHeroesWearCapes
So it's, "Phew, it's in the 90's today", but "Brrr, it's minus 3 out there".
kids, eh?
height - again feet and inches. Cant translate 1m 75cm into how tall someone is.
Distance/ speed. Miles rather than kilometres.
Mileage 26.2 miles sounds shorter than 42.195
Length 7 inches sounds smaller than about 18 cm or
5ft 8.5 inches or 174 cm?
freezing point is 0°c that makes more sense than it being 32°f
If you use km for distance, you should for speed too.
100kmh sounds way quicker than 62mph.
5mins per km or 8mins per mile
1 litre or 0.2gallons
78kg or 12st 4lb?
175cm is 5ft 9"
But I was coming from a rather more basic day to day level and not going to Mars.
If you said your knob was 2 inches long or you said your knob is 50 mm long you basically know and can visualise how long or short your knob is, it’s about the same either way. It’s only when you need to impress or try to get a bit anal would try telling 2 inches is bigger and not the same as 50mm.
I expect the imperial measures to wither away. Like the line, the oxgang, and the wey, eventually pounds, ounces and Fahrenheit will become nothing but historical curiosities. Not all at the same time though and not in my lifetime.
Incidentally a penalty spot is 12 yards, area 18 yards and 10 yards for a free kick. Is that right or is it now 12 18 and 10 metres
Still yards.
So, men, is your ideal woman 5 ft 5 inches tall & 36-24-36? Or 165 cm tall & 91-61-91?
(Neither is me, in case you are wondering!!)