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#121
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US going metric?
It seems to me I heard somewhere that Greg Johnson wrote in article
: I learned both many years ago, and while I use fahrenheit, I can still do the conversion in my head. My question, though, is why was the usage of the explanatory "centigrade" changed to the astrological "celsius"? Why isn't "Fahrenheit" something like "duocentiduodecigrade"? :-) ISTM there's been a strong movement to honor all the historical figures, sometimes at the cost of clarity. Cycles per second Hertz, centigrade Celsius. My gauss is that it's just a way of paying ohmage. -- Don |
#122
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US going metric?
On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 14:01:40 -0800, Don Kirkman
wrote: ISTM there's been a strong movement to honor all the historical figures, sometimes at the cost of clarity. Cycles per second Hertz, centigrade Celsius. My gauss is that it's just a way of paying ohmage. Having originally worked in radio when the term was cycles/second I have always felt the hertz to be something of a ******* unit, but it did lead to the rather cute joke a few decades ago about the "cycle" being an "Avis", or a Hertz-second. ************* DAVE HATUNEN ) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * |
#123
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US going metric?
"Don Kirkman" wrote in message ... My gauss is that it's just a way of paying ohmage. I would be fairly resistant to that notion. Bob M. |
#124
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More conversion trouble.
Oh dear we really must try to avoid all conversions. It would be
trucks per mile * 0.625 or trucks per mile / 1.6 for trucks per km FFM Don Kirkman wrote: It seems to me I heard somewhere that Abe Kouris wrote in article : (me) wrote in message om... (Abe Kouris) wrote in message . com... [snip] Actually, even the Frenchies and other Europeans resisted the metric system after it was introduced, but their 19th century authoritarian governments (Does "Napoleon ring a bell?) made it happen. And even today, Europeans apparently have some non-official, but core convenient, units in common use: the German "pfund" (500 grams), and German and Scandanvian plumber supposedly measure pipe diameters in "thumbs" or "inches." Strange belief that units should serve people, instead of people serving units. They use the units that serve them. [...] My personal suspicion is that by the time any wholesale conversion takes place, you'll see a fairly basterdized metric system around the world. No you won't the basis is pretty standardized, even in the few countries that don't use it in everyday life. Standardized weights and measures are essential for any kind of globalized economy. I'm already seeing "kilograms force" That's just *******ized physics, not *******ized metric system. [...] A guy I knew in snow removal measured in "trucks". I asked him how many tons or cubic feet and he didn't know. He knew how many trucks to the mile. That's just a question of precision, and the miles, being based on the foot, is, in the end, based on the meter, so he could estimate "trucks per kilometer" very easily. Those kind of "organic" units are common and don't convert well to arbitrary metric values. Trucks per mile * 1.6 = trucks per kilometer So you get more truckloads from 5/8 miles than from a whole mile? Methinks trucks per mile / 0.625 might be a better approximation for trucks per km. Unless, of course, metric trucks are smaller than imperial trucks. G If your snow removal guy lived in Europe or Canada, he'd be quoting you "trucks per kilometer," too. So what makes "trucks per mile" so organic? It's just an American quirk. By Gawd, we red-blooded 'Mericans ain't gonna use some pansy-assed system devised by a bunch of Frenchies! Totally irrational. |
#125
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US going metric?
In article , 5890256@7764298
says... On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 18:56:20 -0800, Stephen Dailey wrote: That's poor reporting, Steve. If the reporter came through the Peace Arch crossing then the Home Depot he/she was at is the one I use all the time. Not only did I buy a "Meter stick" a few weeks ago I also had a choice of about 4 brands of tape measures with both Imperial and Metric. I wondered if something was fishy when I read the article. === Steve Shoreline, Washington USA 7 Jan 2004, 1940 PST |
#126
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US going metric?
Don Kirkman wrote in message . ..
ISTM there's been a strong movement to honor all the historical figures, sometimes at the cost of clarity. Cycles per second Hertz, centigrade Celsius. My gauss is that it's just a way of paying ohmage. Cycles per second (CPS) of course actually honored Charles Proteus Steinmetz the father of the ac motor among other things |
#127
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US going metric?
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#128
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US going metric?
"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
... "alohacyberian" wrote in message ... But, as I said, media weather reporting and forecasting is unlikely to use decimals. KM True. But the forecasts are never that accurate to mean 20C is likely to give different weather from 20.5C. I've grown up with nothing but the celcius scale being used on forecasts. Unfortunately newspapers always use Farenheight when reporting hot temperatures as they are bigger numbers so looks more impressive! Yes, I remember seeing a newspaper headline in the U.K. which read, "London Sizzles in the 70's!" It wouldn't sound very impressive as "London Sizzles in the Low to Mid 20's!" Which I've often thought is the reason TV and radio stations in cooler climates in the United States use Celsius, because 5 degrees below zero seems much colder than 23 degrees above zero. And, of course, they're also enamored with "wind chill factor" which makes it seem even colder than it really is, but, of course "wind chill factor" would only come into play for people who are naked, an unlikelyhood when it's 23 degrees Fahrenheit or minus five degrees Celsius. KM -- (-:alohacyberian:-) At my website there are 3000 live cameras or visit NASA, play games, read jokes, send greeting cards & connect to CNN news, NBA, the White House, Academy Awards or learn all about Hawaii, Israel and mo http://keith.martin.home.att.net/ |
#129
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US going metric?
"MMcC" wrote in message
... On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 18:41:59 GMT, "alohacyberian" wrote: "MMcC" wrote in message ... If a 2 degree F difference is as low as you can go then Celsius would work just fine as 1C is 1.8F But, as I said, media weather reporting and forecasting is unlikely to use decimals. KM Why would they need to? Like I said, if a 2 degree F difference is the smallest difference that people can percive (as you seem to attest to), then using Celsius would work perfectly as 1 C is approximately that. Yes, I agree with your assertions, but that still doesn't mean people will like it or accept it. What you and I accept may be completely unacceptable to the masses which has been the case in America so far. Children educated in both Metric and Imperial will be comfortable with both systems, so when they grow up will probably accept Fahrenheit temperatures because they roughly know the conversions and are more comfortable with the status quo. Remember, the U.S. "went metric" in the 70s and the kids who learned it in school are grown up now and still, by and large, prefer the Imperial, especially in certain things like measuring temperatures. KM -- (-:alohacyberian:-) At my website there are 3000 live cameras or visit NASA, play games, read jokes, send greeting cards & connect to CNN news, NBA, the White House, Academy Awards or learn all about Hawaii, Israel and mo http://keith.martin.home.att.net/ |
#130
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US going metric?
"Don Kirkman" wrote in message
... It seems to me I heard somewhere that Greg Johnson wrote in article : I learned both many years ago, and while I use fahrenheit, I can still do the conversion in my head. My question, though, is why was the usage of the explanatory "centigrade" changed to the astrological "celsius"? Why isn't "Fahrenheit" something like "duocentiduodecigrade"? :-) ISTM there's been a strong movement to honor all the historical figures, sometimes at the cost of clarity. Cycles per second Hertz, centigrade Celsius. My gauss is that it's just a way of paying ohmage. Ohm I gosh, Watts up with that? They've had Amp-L time to pay homage till it Hertz and before you know it, the Resistance will be re-Volting. I can just envision those little leprechauns whirling about in their Imp-e dance to keep Current. Who will erg them to Rectify the situation, Newton or Capacit ants to their dyne day? -- (-:alohacyberian:-) At my website there are 3000 live cameras or visit NASA, play games, read jokes, send greeting cards & connect to CNN news, NBA, the White House, Academy Awards or learn all about Hawaii, Israel and mo http://keith.martin.home.att.net/ |
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