Is the whole world metric?

The metric system: length based on the distance from Earth’s north pole to south pole; mass, volume and temperature based on characteristics of water. Multiples based on number of fingers on human hands. Devil’s work?

I like the Fahrenheit scale.
0 F= really cold outside
100 F= really hot outside
Most of the temperatures in the inhabitable regions of earth fit between zero and 100 F, an ideal weather thermometer.

0 C= sort of cold outside
100 C= dead

0 K = dead
100 K = dead

Besides, the freezing and boiling points of water are obsolete as calibration points for thermometers, we have more repeatable calibration points now.

1 Like

You like 100. 10X10. The logic of the metric system!

I like the number six, because a circle can be divided into six equal parts by using the radius as a chord. Then you can easily bisect those six points and you have the 12 hours of a clock, just like Jesus had 12 apostles and the year has 12 months.

You had me agreeing until you got to 12 months. The months are not all the same length of time. A moon (month) is closer to 29 1/2 days, but not exactly, and our various months are, except for some Februaries, longer than 29 1/2 days, and not evenly divisible into 365 1/4 days and… well…

The months of the year are sort of like the circle of fifths in music. Perfect fifths and octaves are not compatible with each other so a compromise was developed which gives us the 12 notes of the evenly tempered scale.
I imagine we could compose songs on a 10 note scale, but I don’t think it would sound good to our ears.
Also, we use whole, half, quarter, eighth notes etc., not 10th or 100th notes. Sort of how we divide up inches.

A year or two (or more maybe) ago, I was watching an episode of Jeopardy and the answer was, the system of measure used in most of the world. One contestant answered with “What is System International?” and was told he was wrong. The next contestant answered with “What is the Metric system?” and got the points. Jeopardy was wrong and they never caught their mistake.

The Metric system is NOT the standard used by most of the world, the standard measurement system is System International (SI) which replaced the Metric system about 10 years after it was proposed. But it is so close to the original metric system that everybody calls SI the metric system.

Interesting. At any rate, I’ve been hearing this stuff since the Weekly Reader in 3rd grade about how we should adopt the metric system. I just fail to see the reason why. Why can we not use several measurement systems depending on what we are doing? Why does the entire world need to march in lock step with one system? Clearly as discussed above, we will never convert everything and never should.

I just use it when it is more convenient and don’t when it isn’t. I’ll admit that when measuring something with my electronic caliper, I will sometimes hit the metric button that makes it easier to measure or compare or divide, etc. I have both metric and SAE tools and outside of the one time cost, its no big deal. I will continue to build 8 foot walls and think in terms of 40 degrees F as being balmy, rather than hot. I think its a disadvantage for the Europeans to not be able to think in terms of both.

We do and so does most of the rest of the world. Not everything is metric in Europe. Do we really need to rename the 12 gauge shotgun a 18.5 X 70 mm shotgun? I’m pretty sure they still shoot “12 gauge” shotguns in Europe and call them that.
Some units of measurement are only used for one product, the circular mil for example. Take the diameter of a copper wire in mils and square that number and you get circular mils. We usually just use the circular mil area just as is instead of multiplying by π/4 to get square mils unless we are dealing with square wire, then we have to multiply the square mil cross sectional area by 4/π in order to get to circular mils. Since most wire is round, we are used to dealing with circular mils and just leave it at that.

No, it is forbidden, from this point on, you shall build 2.44 metre walls, yes and we shall spell meter like the Europeans do. Schweinhund!

Because it’s easier…a lot easier. Every increment is a power of 10. High-school AP physics was a mix of SAE and metric…College physics and math was exclusively metric. The engineering and physics world in the US is almost exclusively metric.

When I ran track in high-school I ran the 440 (440 Yards)…Both my sons ran the 400 (400 meters) in high-school. Most states have 2 sets of state records to accommodate them switching to metric a couple decades ago.

Personally I think we should use the Smoot measurement.

What are the units of measurement behind e = mc squared? Certainly not traditional. Certainly not metric.

e (energy) - ?
m (mass) - ? grains? pounds? grams? no way
c (celeritas = the speed of light) - but certainly not in mph or kph or smoots per second

Is… Is this “new math?” :wink:

The units used are whatever conveys the information intended. In the USA, we use mi/gal, but in most of Europe, they use L/100-km. It’s easy to covert one to the other if needed. At work, if I convey info to one audience, I’ll use one set of units. For another group, I’ll change to get the message across that I want to express.

You can use any consistent set of units you want in e=mc^2. MPH, km/s, furlongs/fortnight, take your pick!

Only the construction industry in Canada is still using the imperial measurments as a standard. Anything else is metric and has been like this for over 30 years.

I calculated the formula using pounds and grams (kilo-grams). What’s the problem.

Why? You can use KPS or MPS or even SPS. You just plug in the numbers.

The Metric system is actually legal in the USA, but most don’t want to work in it. Those companies with world markets, such as the car industry converted because there was a need and advantage to do so.

The Olympic Games have always been metric since the French resurrected them, and Greece is Metric as well.

There are a few places where things like mile markers are in both metric and imperial.

Strangely enough not in Minnesota, despite the world seeming to think we’re Tropical Canada.

Any company that sells and manufactures internationally will likely use the CGS system. That way they have to produce drawings once. It’s a big cost savings.

And lets not forget that other unit of measure, the Pinkwater.

https://www.cartalk.com/content/1334-pinkwater-measurement