Metric System

[latexman]

I worked on a commercial job in Chile and thought it interesting that pipe sizes were noted in inches with lengths in mm. After all, they sourced the pipe from the US but cut it to length themselves. But then again, a 1” pipe is identical to a 25 mm pipe but, in reality, is exactly neither.

Pipe was originally made to inch dimensional standards over 100 years ago. There’s a LOT of pipe out in the world now. So, no one is going to start making pipe with actual dimensions to nice round metric units. It would not mate up to what’s out there! Besides, few pipe products have actual dimensions that are in even, round imperial numbers. For instance, a 2-inch pipe has an inside diameter of about 2-1/8 inches and an outside diameter of about 2-5/8 inches. It is called “2-inch pipe” only for the sake of convenience. So, there is no real need to convert pipe to even, round metric numbers. Just “label” the imperial “nominal pipe size” (NPS) to about the closest millimeter. In fact, that is what the metric “diameter nominal” (DN) is!

 

[braumeister]

One of my favorite conversion lines was long ago when some famous actress stated her age on a TV program, and it was clearly not her real age, which was significantly older.

The comedian on the show with her commented "I assume that's in Celsius?"

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Do you think people would be willing? I'm ready. Metric is SO MUCH EASIER than imperial measurements. I can tell you instantly how many meters are in 6 kilometers. I can't tell you how many yards are in 6 miles without calculating it.

I agree so much easier. I design parts for fun and home use and do everything in metric, just works better. Fractions are out, tenths are a little better, but metric rocks.

 

[JoeWras]

Pipe was originally made to inch dimensional standards over 100 years ago. There’s a LOT of pipe out in the world now. So, no one is going to start making pipe with actual dimensions to nice round metric units. It would not mate up to what’s out there! Besides, few pipe products have actual dimensions that are in even, round imperial numbers. For instance, a 2-inch pipe has an inside diameter of about 2-1/8 inches and an outside diameter of about 2-5/8 inches. It is called “2-inch pipe” only for the sake of convenience. So, there is no real need to convert pipe to even, round metric numbers. Just “label” the imperial “nominal pipe size” (NPS) to about the closest millimeter. In fact, that is what the metric “diameter nominal” (DN) is!

Yep. There are many, many items like this.

My favorite is one that's been going on for over 150 years: the "normal" body temperature of 98.6F. This comes from a study in the 1860s in Germany by a physician that rounded it to 37C. Boom, 98.6F was born.

 

[Alan]

Alan, you guys also hang onto stones. Every time I read a UK based article about someone's weight, I have to get out my multiplication by 14 table. One time, I flipped the switch on our digital scale to stone, for fun, and forgot. DW enjoyed the massive weight loss.

Not really, maybe a cohort of determined folks do but most use kilos these days. Stones and pounds haven’t been taught in schools for an awful long time and whenever I go to the doctors or hospital my weight is taken and recorded in kilos. Our newish home scales bought since we moved back that we weigh ourselves on does not have stones as a display option.

 

[JoeWras]

Not really, maybe a cohort of determined folks do but most use kilos these days. Stones and pounds haven’t been taught in schools for an awful long time and whenever I go to the doctors or hospital my weight is taken and recorded in kilos. Our newish home scales bought since we moved back that we weigh ourselves on does not have stones as a display option.

Interesting! Most of the "pop" news blurbs I see use stone. I've also seen it used casually by medical professionals in TV documentaries about weight loss that include the UK.

Here's a recent story of a man with a 10st loss, as an example:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/man-stuns-family-after-arriving-28572147

 

[Koolau]

I worked for many years using the metric system and was able to do so with no issues (we learned it in my university.) But when I walked out the front gate of Megacorp, my mind switched back to the old system and has remained there. I always find myself converting (in my head) from metric to the US system. Seems crazy but it's sorta like speaking in a foreign language you've just learned. You tend to translate as you go rather than "thinking" in the new language. YMMV

 

[donheff]

Take Social Security while you are still 37 degrees.

No, it's 90 degrees. 37 you are already more than half way to the grave.

 

[folivier]

Back in the early 70's in college in one of my biology (maybe chemistry?) classes when doing math problems I memorized metric conversions. I'd convert to metric, solve the problem, then convert back. Well my answer was always a bit off and one of my first exams my prof gave me a failing grade because of this. I went to his office and explained what I did. He changed my grade to an A and allowed me to solve my problems in metric. He said I was ahead of most of the class in doing this. It was much easier than dealing with ounces, pounds, feet, yards, etc.
And here we are 50 years later and not using metric yet.

 

[Jerry1]

I’ve recently started weighing myself in kilos. I’m on dialysis and one of the things measured is how much fluid is taken off. Since one liter of fluid equals one kilo, they use the metric system to monitor fluid increases/decreases.

 

[Car-Guy]

About the only time "I think about" the metric system is when I'm working on my cars and tractors...

 

[Lewis Clark]

... But for the human experience, that dies with Celsius. Farenheit actually makes sense because it basically took 0 and 100 as the approximate ends of the scale for the typical human experience. In a way, that's metric because it is a factor of 10. Anything over 100 is a warning, and is especially handy for body temperature. We know fevers over 100 need attention. ...

The Fahrenheit scale was developed by assigning a value of 0 degrees to the coldest temperature that Daniel Fahrenheit could create in a laboratory. He assigned a value of 100 degrees to what he thought was the normal internal human body temperature (although it turned out he was a little bit off). Based on these definitions, the freezing point of pure water is 32 degrees and the boiling point of pure water is 212 degrees.

 

[rk911]

when i was learning to fly mileage and speeds were in KM but fuel endurance was gallons-per-hour. temps were in C but altitudes (MSL, AGL) were in feet. talk about confusing.

 

[Telly]

If you live in the US, forget "Imperial". We don't use it!

Maybe ten or so years ago, I noticed that some hand tool advertisements had started to use the word "Imperial", to differentiate from Metric. Why, I don't know. Then it seemed to spread. The original tool sizes we used were usually called "Standard", as that was standard in the US. But really did not hear that name until metric machinery started to appear here.

Canada had used Imperial measures, we (US) didn't, and still don't.

We use the US customary units. If y'all (in the USA) are gassing up with "Imperial" gallons, for example, then you are not using US gallons. An Imperial gallon, IIRC, is 20% more than a US customary gallon. Realized quickly if driving into Canada before they changed.

Call it "Standard", call it "American", call it "US customary" or "US customary units", but don't call it "Imperial". Unless you're pining for the old British Empire

 

[timbervest]

I think the US is alone in its retention of the old system, which is ridiculous.

According to various sources the only countries that have not officially adopted the metric system are Myanmar, Liberia, and the United States. Both Myanmar and Liberia are in the process of converting to metric officially so . . .

 

[Ronstar]

For a while, federally funded road projects in Illinois had to have plans and surveys (and land acquisition deeds) done in both imperial and metric. That was interesting. I was doing meters to feet conversions and vice versa all day long. Areas in hectares and acres.

 

[DrRoy]

The politicians are too afraid of doing something that people would complain about, and there would be initial expense.

 

[ERD50]

It will happen over time. It would help if more things were shown in metric units, to get people used to the numbers.

I'm trying harder to "think" in metric, rather than convert (as in "that looks like ~ 12mm", rather than "that looks like ~ 1/2", which is, let's see, 25.4mm/inch, so ~12mm"). But when you grow up with a system, it just becomes natural to think in those terms.

And I do prefer the metric system, I just need to get used to it. It's just so much easier to when trying to adjust something to be even, if I'm shooting for 40mm, and this side is 42 mm, I need to move it 2 mm over - instead of dealing with 16th's or 8ths, and crossing the inch line and adjusting that, etc. Or dividing in half when you have 3 11/16th ( let's see - 1 1/2 plus 11/32nds is 1 and 16/32 plus 11/32 is 1 and 27/32nds ~ 1 13/16ths......) vs 94mm (45 +2 = 47mm).

Just recently, I was watching a youtube video of a Canadian guitar repair guy. Being Canadian, he is fluent in thinking in both English and metric, and will mention each without having to convert, he just knows that X/YYths of an inch is Z mm.

So I was a little surprised when he mentioned that for certain measurements that he makes with a small metal scale, he prefers the English fraction scale. Hmmm. why? Well, the 1/64th lines provide more resolution than the mm lines (1/64 ~ .3967 mm), even 1/32nd is less than a mm (.79375mm). The next mm marking in metric would be 10ths of mm - to small to put on a metal scale. Even 1/2 mm markings (non-metric-like) would be wider than the 1/64th inch scale.

-ERD50

 

[Music Lover]

^^

Although Canada is mostly Metric, dimensional lumber is still non-Metric and stores identify lumber as 2x4's or 4'x8' plywood, for example. My tape measure has both but I always use inches and feet when building.

 

[marko]

If we went to liters instead of gallons, gasoline would be about a buck! So I'm all for it.

 

[Music Lover]

If we went to liters instead of gallons, gasoline would be about a buck! So I'm all for it.

And an increase of 5 cents will feel less punishing than an increase of 18 cents!!

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

It's kind of a mix in Canada. In my day to day:

• weather temperature makes sense to me in Celsius but oven/food temp in fahrenheit
• distance in kilometers but height in feet and inches
• my weight in pounds but weight at the grocery store it's a mix of pounds and kilograms
• litres when buying gas and milk but cups when cooking/baking

 

[Koolau]

when i was learning to fly mileage and speeds were in KM but fuel endurance was gallons-per-hour. temps were in C but altitudes (MSL, AGL) were in feet. talk about confusing.

Throw in knots (nautical miles per hour) and it does get confusing.

 

[JoeWras]

The knots thing sneaks up on you.

The difference is similar to yards and meters. I swim a lot and like most swimmers, I'm quite aware of swimming yards or meters.

 

[Koolau]

The knots thing sneaks up on you.

The difference is similar to yards and meters. I swim a lot and like most swimmers, I'm quite aware of swimming yards or meters.

Even as a pilot, I couldn't "think" in knots. My mechanical computer did all the calculations and I hoped I'd done everything right so I'd end up where I wanted to be. Thank goodness for my Chicago sectional map.