[time-nuts] time-nuts Digest, Vol 89, Issue 51

[Steve .]

On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 2:43 PM, Steve . <iteration69 at gmail.com> wrote:

> The laboratory where i work obviously reports results using the SI metric
> system. There is one exception though, and that is the energy side,
> specifically calorimetry. At first glance the calorimeters appear to
> normal(SI, that is). They take mass in terms of the gram, measure
> temperature by degree Celsius, and internal calibration is stored as
> calories.
>
> The exception is the result is reported in BTU/ pound!  How's that for
> mixing systems?
>
> On the electronics side of things it's even worse. Technical documents
> mixing and matching between systems. It's very common to see specifications
> cited partially in MKS and CGS with no correction terms.
> FYI:
>
Correction

> MKS = Meter Kilogram Second
> CGS = Centimeter Gram Second
>
> I've seen two other systems, but their names are eluding me at this time.
> Also, I've come across bolts that are not SI, nor SAE. I believe they are
> considered a british thread but i'm not certain.
>
> Steve
>
> On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 1:15 PM, Don Latham <djl at montana.com> wrote:
>
>> What I find interesting is that the first push for standardization, at
>> least for machine threads, came from the manufacture of arms, the
>> Springfield Armory, at the time of the Civil war. At that time, threads
>> were a mixture of the then fledgling metric system (French) and a
>> conglomeration of American threads. Thread shapes were quite different
>> as well. The next big standardization came from- you got it- the
>> automotive industry (SAE is of course Society of Automotive Engineers),
>> and I guess, only a guess, that the reluctance to change to metric
>> really came from the automobile industry. At one time, the Volvo had
>> SAE, Metric, and Whitworth fasteners in it, and not too long ago at
>> that.
>> So, I think that manufacturing inertia rather than the housewife might
>> be to blame for the US still being SAE and all that implies. As bolts
>> go, so do the rest of the measurements.
>> Don
>>
>>
>> Chris Albertson
>> > On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 9:29 AM, Dan Kemppainen <dan at irtelemetrics.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >>
>> >> On 12/14/2011 3:59 PM, time-nuts-request at febo.com wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>> It's not like metric is totally absent.  We drink 2 liter cokes and
>> >>> defend
>> >>> ourselves with 9mm pistols.   Our cars use mostly metric parts.  Even
>> >>> ham
>> >>> radio operators, arguably the most jingoistic and set in the past
>> >>> bunch
>> >>> around, get on the 80, 40, and 20 METER bands.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> I agree with you, and funnily enough the rest of the NATO world uses
>> >> 7.62mm
>> >> and 5.56mm rifles. (Both were originally based on standard inch sized
>> >> rifle
>> >> cartridges designed in the US)
>> >>
>> >> The problem in converting to metric would require replacing a lot of
>> >> tools.
>> >> For example Mills, lathes, and other machining tools and measurement
>> >> devices
>> >> are expensive, and last for decades.
>> >
>> > Can you point one even ONE machine shop in the US that can make metric
>> > parts?  Those guys would have gone out of business years ago.   Also
>> > how many are still using hand cranks and reading veneer scales?   Even
>> > small one man ships are using CNC now.
>> >
>> > The US is slowly converting.  It will take a long time.  Even now if
>> > you go to Home Depot and look at plywood you see the better (non
>> > construction) grades sold in even millimeters with the inches being
>> > some odd number of 32nds approximation.   This will slowly creep into
>> > more and more products.
>> >
>> > So the debate is silly.  If the US should convert???  No.  the only
>> > question is how fast are we converting and when will we be fully
>> > converted.   Not even if this will happen, it will.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Chris Albertson
>> > Redondo Beach, California
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at febo.com
>> > To unsubscribe, go to
>> > https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
>> > and follow the instructions there.
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> "Neither the voice of authority nor the weight of reason and argument
>> are as significant as experiment, for thence comes quiet to the mind."
>> R. Bacon
>> "If you don't know what it is, don't poke it."
>> Ghost in the Shell
>>
>>
>> Dr. Don Latham AJ7LL
>> Six Mile Systems LLP
>> 17850 Six Mile Road
>> POB 134
>> Huson, MT, 59846
>> VOX 406-626-4304
>> www.lightningforensics.com
>> www.sixmilesystems.com
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at febo.com
>> To unsubscribe, go to
>> https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
>> and follow the instructions there.
>>
>
>