Metric Measurement
Nov 5, 2023 19:31:21 #
And speaking of cars and the use of Metric and Imperial units, when it comes to tires, the diameter of the rim that they're mounted on is specified in Inches, while the width of the tread is in Millimeters. Don't you just love 'standards'?
Nov 5, 2023 22:04:21 #
lamiaceae wrote:
Both are considered metric. Kilo-joules are commonly used by Engineers and Physicists, Kilo-calories are commonly used by Chemists, Biologists, and the Medical Sciences. Electronics & Electrical fields usually use Watts. Mass, Weight, Energy, Force, Work, it all gets worse. . . 
This is one of the big problems with the metric system. The second big problem is the US education system that doesn’t know about the first problem. When I looked at my children’s home work from high school, when they were learning the so-called metric system, it was a mess of bastardized units from the the cgs system, some from mks and there was no way that you could make a simple formula like F=mA give you the correct answer. The medical profession is the worst, they always use a mix mash of both systems plus a few added ones they come up with on their own. Speaking of the Brits they are still using both systems. Just drive on their roads which are still posted in miles per hour.
I at one time had a fellow engineer friend that was on the US metrication committee. He told me that the big sticking point with the US moving to a metric system was machine screws. Some major parts of industry didn’t want to switch to metric screws.
Cheers.
Nov 5, 2023 22:09:45 #
bikinkawboy wrote:
Joules are a quantity-time measure. The difference between watts and Joules is similar to the different between gallons and gallons per minute.
The Joule is the SI unit of energy, experssed in Watt-seconds or Newton-meters.
Cheers
Nov 5, 2023 23:30:19 #
OldCADuser wrote:
If you've ever worked on a car with sparkplugs, no matter what the 'units' of the other hardware (nuts and bolts) were, the threads on the sparkplug were Metric. Sparkplugs have always been Metric, no matter where the car was manufactured.
But the socket size was 5/8", 3/4", 13/16" and maybe 7/8" if I remember right. I can't remember the size for some small engines like chain saws.
Nov 5, 2023 23:36:27 #
Nov 6, 2023 00:28:05 #
jlg1000 wrote:
Here in Uruguay, wey are metric, period. No fractions, no need to.
But because we buy many things from the USA we are contaminated with some SAE dimensions... I like the french: if you dare to pronounce the word inch, you are executed on the guillotine the very same day.
But because we buy many things from the USA we are contaminated with some SAE dimensions... I like the french: if you dare to pronounce the word inch, you are executed on the guillotine the very same day.
How do they refer to the inch worm?
Nov 6, 2023 06:06:55 #
Bridges wrote:
How do they refer to the inch worm?
Ver de pouce...
The whole "inch worm" party was executed in the French Revolution
Nov 6, 2023 07:30:52 #
Ah, but the most widely used measurement of altitude is in feet. Still, metric/english units issues were the cause for the Korean Air MD-11 crash, when they were told to ascend to an altitude in meters and the pilot thought it was in feet. I would tend to think that even where there is the need for unit conversion, most of the problems are rather caused by a lack of communication.
https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/metrication-errors-and-mishaps
https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/metrication-errors-and-mishaps
Nov 6, 2023 08:00:42 #
jiminnee wrote:
As a mechanic, I've worked on both standard & metric. Can't say I ever worked on a vehicle that had both unless it had a foreign part on it.
General Motors
Nov 6, 2023 08:38:32 #
BebuLamar wrote:
I don't know but the switch to metric never happened was because the majority of the American people don't want it. If you take a survey the majority of American do not want metric.
Dear Longshadow you are right on target with this answer ! It's like when they tried to change miles to kilometers ,as long as they have up both signs on the highway you know what everyone will focus on ! But leave off miles and we are forced to learn kilometers !
Nov 6, 2023 08:40:48 #
bikinkawboy
Loc: north central Missouri
Just think, if the USA, Liberia and Myanmar switched to metric, all of the world’s problems would be solved. World peace, no hunger, no religious strife and the world would be one big happy family all thinking in multiples of ten!
Nov 6, 2023 09:05:15 #
bikinkawboy wrote:
Just think, if the USA, Liberia and Myanmar switched to metric, all of the world’s problems would be solved. World peace, no hunger, no religious strife and the world would be one big happy family all thinking in multiples of ten!
Exactly! World peace is just a mm away!
Nov 6, 2023 09:07:10 #
Nov 6, 2023 09:19:39 #
Reuss Griffiths
Loc: Ravenna, Ohio
jerryc41 wrote:
I watched a guy in England working on a project la... (show quote)
The problem with switching to metric is that it's in for a penny, in for a pound (so to speak). It not just linear measures or volumes, it's temperature, pressure, torque, ad infinitum. People may be willing to switch on linear and volume but it would be overwhelming to change them all.
Nov 6, 2023 09:34:33 #
Longshadow wrote:
That's because they don't want to learn/get used to a new system.
Change can be very difficult.
Change can be very difficult.
The U.S. Military uses metric and servicemen have no problems understanding metrics.
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