[time-nuts] Standards for units

Magnus Danielson cfmd at bredband.net
Wed Apr 4 01:00:42 UTC 2007


From: Hal Murray <hmurray at megapathdsl.net>
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Standards for units
Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:14:50 -0700
Message-ID: <20070404001451.A4954BE06 at ip-64-139-1-69.sjc.megapath.net>

> 
> > The US has been metric since 1988, however the continued use of
> > customary units during the indefinitely long transition time is the
> > problem. Fundamentally it seems there is a lack of political will to
> > place a  definite cutoff date on the use of customary units. 
> 
> I have friends who work in the auto industry.  They reported (over 10 years 
> ago?) that all new designs are metric.
> 
> I wonder how much it would help if GSA gave a serious preference to things 
> that were metric?
> 
> What's 8.5x11 in metric?

An odd-shaped A4ish paper for which there is no propper envelope.

This fact I had to learn from an American professor that was enligthened when
he came to Sweden. Since then he converted to A4 even in his NYC flat where his
wife mostly lives (there is a downside to being professors at different
universities divided by the atlantic).

> Do we have to convert to A4 too?

Preferably. :)

> For real fun, look at bicycle parts.  I remember seeing one part that had 
> 25.4 threads per inch.

:)

> What fraction of the military is metric?  Do they buy potatoes in kilos or 
> pounds?

The aviation side certainly have alot of imperial measures. Figures.

Look at GPS. Certainly metric all the way as far as I have seen. Like all
aviation stuff that part may ofcourse use a mixture. Wonder what nice orbit 
errors they would have if they used metric and survey inches as basis.
Hmm.... 2 ppm would be some 50 m or so.

> > One would have thought that with the advent of computers using the
> > "survey inch" and related units for new surveys would have vanished by
> > now. 
> 
> There is probably a lot of legal baggage there.  I'll bet they will be one of 
> the last holdouts.

I wonder just how many metric related laws they would have to write before
all things is metric. There is already a few to go around you know.

Cheers,
Magnus




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