Weight

[The Industriallist]

I kind of agree. It wouldn't hurt me much. I can't estimate measurements anyway. I might as well be incompetant in an efficient system of measure.

[Revanael]

The Imperial system is entirely based off humans, rather than anything else. So it's much more useful for guessing values.

As a side point, the english pound was once worth one pound in gold. Hence the name.

Since WWII, however, you haven't been able to go and exchange your money for the equivalent in gold. Before that, you could.

[Jos Elkink]

Metric came from france, you know.

So? ... The fact that it comes from *some* country is not very relevant. It is true, indeed, in Paris there is somewhere a thing of a metre length that is the formal reference for the metre. If that thing changes size, everything does - expressed in metres, at least ...

But the metric system has been accepted as the international standard (ISO), hence is used in Cantr ...

[Revanael]

Correction, Jos. The alloy rod in Paris is exactly a metre long, but the metre itself is defined as the distance light travels in a certain time.

[Jos Elkink]

Serious? That is interesting ... So the metre is not older than our knowledge about the speed of light? Or has it been redefined?

[Agar]

Designed during the French Revolution of the 1790's, the metric system brought order out of the conflicting and confusing traditional systems of weights and measures then being used in Europe.

The Earth itself was selected as the measuring stick. The meter was defined to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator to the North Pole. The liter was to be the volume of one cubic decimeter, and the kilogram was to be the weight of a liter of pure water. It didn't turn out quite like this, because the scientific methods of the time were not quite up to the task of measuring these quantities precisely, but the actual metric units come very close to the design.

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Meter
(m, metric) Currently defined as the length of 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red radiation of 86Kr in a vacuum, one meter contains 100 cm = 1000 mm. There are 1000 m in a kilometer. One meter = 39.37 inches = 3.28 feet = 1.09 yards.

Liter
(l, metric) 1 liter is the volume of a cube that is 10 cm (1 deciliter) on each side (see distance units). There are 10 deciliters = 1,000 milliliters = 1,000 cubic centimeters = 1.057 quarts = 33.814 ounces in a liter. Because water has a density of 1.0, one liter of water weighs 1,000 grams = 1 kilogram.

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The metric system has evolved as our understanding of science has evolved, but the system is so recent, relatively speaking, that the original measurments were close enough for thier day.

[Antichrist_Online]

A metre is one of the seven SI units, used for making science papers and engineering universal.
The seven units are:
Metre
Kilogram
Mole
Candela
Kelvin
Second
Ampere

All other units are derived units from these base units, such as velocity being ms-1 and force being kgms-2.

[Jos Elkink]

Meter (m, metric) Currently defined as the length of 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red radiation of 86Kr in a vacuum

LOL!

But thanks for the info ...

[Revanael]

The point about the SI units is that, at least in theory, you can measure them anywhere and they will be they same. They are not based on some arbitrary length, but something measurable and repeatable.

[jeslange]

They are not based on some arbitrary length, but something measurable and repeatable.

This is why I prefer the English system. For one, it's clearly based on something measurable and repeatable. I bet someone here has connections that would let us get permission to dig up King George's foot to prove it. Was the inch based on the length of his...nevermind.

TWO whole countries officially use the english system. Why doesn't the rest of the world get with the program and convert to english?

Additionally, things like losing 45 million dollar spacecrafts sometimes occur 'cause some silly fool assumes the measurements were done using the metric system, when they were done in the much more practical english system. What better way to ensure that "U.S. WUZ HERE" is scribbled on the Martian surface?

Anyway...I felt a need to defend my beloved english system.

Cantr units dun have nuthin' to do with either system. It's more based on "What I'm making is kinda similar in length to something that other guy once made, which he made that size 'cause it was similar in width to something this other guy made, since we're surely all percieving these imaginary sizes the same way as each other."

[The Hunter]

You forget it's much easier to make calculations using the metric systems since all measurements are linked, 1 KG is 1 l of water so i know instantly that the displacement of 1 cdm is 1 KG. I know that every 1 metre column of water= a pressure of 1 bar (standard now is newtons, so 10 KN/m2, or HPa for airpressure). Nice if you don't have a calculator built for easy imperial calculations. I'd hate to have to calculate stones to gallons to Psi or whatever weird units the imperial system uses.
Ofcourse I'm the product of my generation and I've learned to use the metric system since my first schoolday.

Additionally, things like losing 45 million dollar spacecrafts sometimes occur 'cause some silly fool assumes the measurements were done using the metric system, when they were done in the much more practical english system. What better way to ensure that "U.S. WUZ HERE" is scribbled on the Martian surface?

Now imagine if the imperial system would be implemented suddenly. Those spacecraft wouldnt even leave the ground due to the mentioned mistake.

TWO whole countries officially use the english system. Why doesn't the rest of the world get with the program and convert to english?

90% of the whole world uses the metric system. Wouldn't it be easier for those few countrys to get used to metric instead of the other way around?

By the way. The "alloy rod" is made of platinum.

[Thomas Pickert]

90% of the whole world uses the metric system. Wouldn't it be easier for those few countrys to get used to metric instead of the other way around?

I'm sure that Jessica is more than happy to know that you perfectly understood her message.

By the way. The "alloy rod" is made of platinum.

Yes. And 10% of that platinum is iridium.

[...]The alloy rod in Paris is exactly a metre long[...]

I think, it's 102cm long. It has marks on it that define the length of 1 metre, though, with an error presumably not greater than 1E-7.

Meter (m, metric) Currently defined as the length of 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red radiation of 86Kr in a vacuum

That's the definition from the '60s. I believe to recall that it has been improved somewhere in the '80s. Speed of light and some fraction of a second have been used, I think, but I can't currently find any documentation of it anywhere.

[The Hunter]

90% of the whole world uses the metric system. Wouldn't it be easier for those few countrys to get used to metric instead of the other way around?

I'm sure that Jessica is more than happy to know that you perfectly understood her message.

By the way. The "alloy rod" is made of platinum.

Yes. And 10% of that platinum is iridium.

Lol. Yeah, I'm perfectly aware of the "hint" of sarcasm in her post. Hence the smiley.
And the rod is an alloy afterall huh? Thanks.

[Nick]

I much prefer to weigh my usual 205 pounds rather than 92.98 kilos. Hell, I'd even rather weigh 14.6 stone, than 92.98 kilos.

Thats what most americans say in defense, that when it converts, you get decimals and such. Well, obviously. But I am willing to bet you dont weigh 205 pounds to the ounce exactly. You would probably say you weigh 90 kilos, if you were metric.

However, Canadians are metric officially, but generally when measuring a persons weight or height, we use imperial. Dont know why, really.

Its just that Americans are too obnoxious to take the obviously easier system. Water freezing point 0 degrees, boiling point 100. 10milimeters in a centimeter, 100 cm in a meter, 1000m in a kilometer, etc. How simple is that?

[Revanael]

When measuring humans, it seems more comfortable to use measurements based on a human.