What do you think of millimetres?

neilwood32 wrote in post #8274557
Sorry Sam was that MMs or M &Ms? http://www.mms.com/us/​index.jsp

MM

Eminiem is a white guy who raps the trap yo

Of course I had to go with the Jazz one
Being Canadian, millimetres are what we work in now, but I'm old enough to have grown up in the Imperial system. Does that make me bimeasurable? (Candian joke regarding dual language requirements, don't worry if you don't get it).

I notices more and more U.S. and European TV has people saying "metres" instead of "feet".

I've been saying "meters" for decades. The rest are slowly catching up.

The U.S. will go metric. It has no choice. Of course, it will do it kicking and screaming all the way.

Besides, the French invented the metric system, but how long was it before a French housewife stopped buying "une livre de beurre" (even though what she got was a demi-kilogramme)? I think some old mesdames still do so!

As for the spelling "meter" vs. "metre": that's an American thing, using "er" in place of "re" for that particular word termination sound. It's gonna be around for a long time, so get used to it. Besides, "meter" is fully sanctioned by the ISO.

I'm still waiting for you hard-core metricists to start using gibibytes to accurately describe your computer memory, instead of the erroneous giogabytes. After all, memory is in binary quantities, not decimal, and binary prefies should be used. This IS specified by the ISO:

kilobyte = 1000^1 bytes = 1,000 bytes
megabyte = 1000^2 bytes = 1,000,000 bytes
gigabyte = 1000^3 bytes = 1,000,000,000 bytes
terabyte = 1000^4 bytes = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes
petabyte = 1000^5 bytes = 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
etc.

kibibyte = 1024^1 bytes = 2^10 bytes = 1024 bytes
mebibyte = 1024^2 bytes = 2^20 bytes = 1,048,576 bytes
gibibyte = 1024^3 bytes = 2^30 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes
tebibyte = 1024^4 bytes = 2^40 bytes = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes
pebibyte = 1024^5 bytes = 2^50 bytes = 1,125,599,907,842,624 bytes
etc.

Notice that in a common 1 terabyte drive there is a "hidden" 99.5 gigabyte drive. Not very long ago, that would have been a respectable drive in its own right.

And just how hard is it to write "a 1 TiB drive" instead of "a 1 TB drive" anyway?

If you want to be a metricist, then be a pure metricist! Don't be half-pure!

Indeed - and it will be a horrific process. I suspect 25% of our population will have no idea whatsoever how many liters of gas will fit in their tank, or how do basic conversions for things like recipes. It will be interesting to see how Google will handle map conversions, and the individual states - road sign conversions.

It's going to be messy.

Hmm... there gotta be some way to cash in on this

20droger wrote in post #8324056
The U.S. will go metric. It has no choice. Of course, it will do it kicking and screaming all the way.If you want to be a metricist, then be a pure metricist! Don't be half-pure!

Kendoway wrote in post #8324626
Indeed - and it will be a horrific process. I suspect 25% of our population will have no idea whatsoever how many liters of gas will fit in their tank, or how do basic conversions for things like recipes. It will be interesting to see how Google will handle map conversions, and the individual states - road sign conversions.

It's going to be messy.

Hmm... there gotta be some way to cash in on this

I dunno -- of course, the scientific community largely embraces the metric system and, of course, we have to have metric wrenches with our "normal" wrenches and deal with food and beverage products that are liberally sprinkled with litres and kilograms amongst our gallons, pounds and ounces.

But it will always boil down to the layman. For instance, the only time I think about kilometers is when I'm glancing at the dual-system speedometer in my car or watching a war movie and hearing "kliks" (or is it klics?).

And, don't ask me to translate my weight from pounds to kilograms, my height to meters and millimeters, or my gas from gallons to litres -- sorry, I don't carry a calculater in my pocket or in my head, and I doubt that many native Americans do or want to.

So, who minds if the metric system trickles into our lingo, but making it "official" for everyone IMO ain't gonna happen anytime soon. Maybe if they change the law to allow European-born citizens to be elected President...

tonylong wrote in post #8324776
I dunno -- of course, the scientific community largely embraces the metric system and, of course, we have to have metric wrenches with our "normal" wrenches and deal with food and beverage products that are liberally sprinkled with litres and kilograms amongst our gallons, pounds and ounces.

But it will always boil down to the layman. For instance, the only time I think about kilometers is when I'm glancing at the dual-system speedometer in my car or watching a war movie and hearing "kliks" (or is it klics?).

And, don't ask me to translate my weight from pounds to kilograms, my height to meters and millimeters, or my gas from gallons to litres -- sorry, I don't carry a calculater in my pocket or in my head, and I doubt that many native Americans do or want to.

So, who minds if the metric system trickles into our lingo, but making it "official" for everyone IMO ain't gonna happen anytime soon. Maybe if they change the law to allow European-born citizens to be elected President...

yes, it boils down to the layman. But it will happen, and it will take about 30 years, give or take. Just like it did in Canada.

Our "normal" wrenches, as you call them, are SAE wrenches, sizes approved by the Society of Automotive Engineers.

As for your weight and height, you'll get used to them when your doctor starts using kilograms and centimeters, which he will, and relatively soon. The government will insist upon it. Most hospitals are already using Celsius instead of Fahrenheit for your temperatures. A normal of 98.6°F is 37.0°C.

And it's preferred as "Kliks," although some spell it "clicks" or "klicks."

20droger wrote in post #8325358
yes, it boils down to the layman. But it will happen, and it will take about 30 years, give or take. Just like it did in Canada.

Didn't the whole US conversion to metric start in the 70's?

Thirty years later...

20droger wrote in post #8325358
Most hospitals are already using Celsius instead of Fahrenheit for your temperatures. A normal of 98.6°F is 37.0°C.

Centigrade is probably the worst measurement in the metric system, so darn sloppy.

mbellot wrote in post #8325568
Didn't the whole US conversion to metric start in the 70's?

Thirty years later...

Not really. Only for some government and NATO things.

First off, the centigrade scale hasn't existed since 1954, when it was redefined to use the triple point of water instead of the freezing point and was renamed the Celsius scale. This brought the Celsius scale in line with the Kelvin scale, which the centigrade scale was not.

Secondly, the preferred ISO temperature scale is the Kelvin scale. It just produces strange numbers for mundane things. Normal body temperature, for example, would be 254.15K. (Notice the absence of the degree symbol: temperature is measured in kelvins, not degrees kelvin.)

Thirdly, in what way is the Celsius scale "so darn sloppy"? Seem a hell of a lot better than the Fahrenheit scale to me. Or do you prefer the Rankine scale? Or maybe the Réaumur scale?

20droger wrote in post #8325778
Not really. Only for some government and NATO things.

Nonsense. They started labeling cereal boxes, soda and everything else in liters and grams way back when...

20droger wrote in post #8325778
First off, the centigrade scale hasn't existed since 1954, when it was redefined to use the triple point of water instead of the freezing point and was renamed the Celsius scale. This brought the Celsius scale in line with the Kelvin scale, which the centigrade scale was not.

Sorry, old school slip.

20droger wrote in post #8325778
Secondly, the preferred ISO temperature scale is the Kelvin scale. It just produces strange numbers for mundane things. Normal body temperature, for example, would be 254.15K. (Notice the absence of the degree symbol: temperature is measured in kelvins, not degrees kelvin.)

Preferred by whom?

My cross-eyed industry (electronics) can't seem to pick a standard. Many IC packages are still decimal inches, but the metric fascists are making inroads. Those same ICs are generally rated for ambient operating temperatures in degrees C, regardless of how they are mechanically dimensioned.

20droger wrote in post #8325778
Thirdly, in what way is the Celsius scale "so darn sloppy"? Seem a hell of a lot better than the Fahrenheit scale to me. Or do you prefer the Rankine scale? Or maybe the Réaumur scale?

The (approximate) 2:1 conversion. I have little kids, and when they get a fever every 0.1 degree matters above 101 (F). Celsius would require a thermometer that reads out in 0.05 degree increments to be as granular.

mbellot wrote in post #8325886

Not really. Only for some government and NATO things.

Nonsense. They started labeling cereal boxes, soda and everything else in liters and grams way back when...

That's just labeling, or rather double labeling, which is not the same as converting. A box of Great Value Toasted Oat Cereal (Sam Walton's Cheerios clone) off my pantry shelf says "NET WT 18 OZ (1 LB 2 OZ) 510g". Notice that it is not only double labeled, it is triple labeled, with two different U.S. measurements. You think that maybe they know that, even though we've been using our system of weights for over 200 years, many people don't know that there are 16 ounces to the pound? No such difficulties arise with the metric weight. They do not have to say "510 g (0.51 Kg)."

Now, the "Nutrition Facts" listing on the side of the box does give only metric values, except for the serving size (which must, by law, be in the same units as the primary units of the container, but may be double labeled, and is). That's because the measurements are scientific, and virtually all scientific measurements have been metric for over a century.

If it'll make you happy, however, I will point out that the "Calories" specified are not approved ISO units. In fact, they are actually kilogram-calories, not the more scientifically based gram-calories many of us oldsters remember from chemistry class. Calories (either type) are as obsolete as BTUs or furlongs, but, like those other units, are still used in certain industries. With calories, it's the food industry; BTUs, the heating/cooling industry; and furlongs, at your local friendly racetrack (horse type).

Metric soda bottle are a different thing altogether. The soda companies, led by good old Coca-Cola, decided that one bottling standard should be used to facilitate international sales and distribution. They (naturally) chose the metric standard over the U.S. standard. You may note, however, that cans sold in the U.S. are still in ounces, just double labeled: 12 oz. = 355ml.

Wine, too, tends to be metricized. Hard liquor is beginning to be, especially imported products.

Forgiven.

By the ISO. Read their specs.

The medical profession seems to do quite nicely with degrees Celsius, as do all those people in the whole world outside of the U.S., Liberia, and Myanmar. Glass Celsius medical thermometers are exactly the same sizes as Fahrenheit thermometers, just scaled differently. And yes, to 0.05°C. It's all a matter of what one is used to.

In 1960 when we moved from Germany to Australia my father, a builder my trade had to convert to imperial from metric.. Not too much of a problem.. Then in the early '70s when Australia went over to metric he had to convert back again..

Having used both systems he is all in favour of the metric system.. So much easier and makes more sense..

Admit it stealthy, you just like metric because everything sounds bigger to your wife.

mbellot wrote in post #8325568
Centigrade is probably the worst measurement in the metric system, so darn sloppy.

You're kidding right?!

Zero degrees is the temperature water freezes (at sea level) 100 is the temperature water boils (at sea level). Simple. Very practical. (actually it's about 0.1 degree off that... read more below)

But water freezes at 32 °F. and boils at 212°F. What the?! Where does that come from?

Well according the the source off all knowledge (wikipedia ) this is the answer:

Sounds fancy.

Celsius can still be refereed to as Centigrade BTW (unless you're totally anal, or a science dude who NEEDS to differentiate the difference ). The refined definition is still a "centigrade" centi referring to 100 "grades" or steps. Celsius is named after the inventor of Centigrade Anders Celsius (it use to be that 0 was the boiling point of water and 100 was the freezing point a few years after he died they switched it). AFAKI anyway. The "new" version is pretty close to the old anyway (0.1 degree difference). Just more in line with the Kelvin measurement. So close most people don't need to know the difference outside the study of thermodynamics at least.

Duncan Frenz wrote in post #8327392
Admit it stealthy, you just like metric because everything sounds bigger to your wife.

LOL I don't need any enhancement. Haven't you seen how big my poles are... polls.

Lest we forget: