Jump to content

Happy Metric Day!


The Anti-Targ

Recommended Posts

Today (20 May 2019 to be precise, because it's 21 May here) is the day the metric (SI) units have been redefined so that nothing relies on a lump of matter being kept in a secure vault somewhere.

Here are the new definitions https://www.bipm.org/en/CGPM/db/26/1/

Most fascinating is that everything is ultimately based on the vibration of the caesium 133 atom.

Happy science everyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You non-metrics keep your dirty feet away from this thread! 

Imagine leagues of imperial barbarians come to pound our walls down any day now...tear em down stone for stone, giving us no quarter. Give em an inch, and you will see the unfathomably painful picture of our wrists in chains. We need to go the extra mile and ensure our children a happy future in our yards.

Call me prejudiced if you will, but you know as well as I that there is more than a grain of truth in this...and a ton of sense!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saw this interesting video about why a certain country hasn't adopted the metric system yet. The interesting thing is that it kind of has, just no one realises it. And the fact it wasn't one of the first is allegedly all the fault of the Brits. So, yeah.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always find the UK a bit of an odd mix up between the two systems as we use both for different things, people will use feet and inches or cm for their heights for example, or measure their cars fuel efficiency in miles per gallon but when you actually fill it up the pump displays in litres, the metric system is definitely easier though!.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Bittersweet Distractor said:

I always find the UK a bit of an odd mix up between the two systems as we use both for different things, people will use feet and inches or cm for their heights for example, or measure their cars fuel efficiency in miles per gallon but when you actually fill it up the pump displays in litres, the metric system is definitely easier though!.

A lot of people talk about their weight in stones and pounds too, it is a weird blend

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, HelenaExMachina said:

A lot of people talk about their weight in stones and pounds too, it is a weird blend

I have to say that while I can covert pounds easily enough, stones get me every time.

They're such a uniquely British (& Irish?) measurement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Impmk2 said:

I have to say that while I can covert pounds easily enough, stones get me every time.

They're such a uniquely British (& Irish?) measurement.

Yes they’re a weird one too, I do know my weight in stones and in kgs but never really remember it in strictly lbs I always have to convert it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, mcbigski said:

Two kinds of countries.  Moon walkers and metrics.

Eta America fuck yeah!

You really should check your facts more often.  Questions for you. What is the definition of an inch? Or a pound? What do you do to calibrate scales?  Or measuring instruments? 

The answer is you use a meter, a kilogram and a second to generate all your so called superior units.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, maarsen said:

You really should check your facts more often.  Questions for you. What is the definition of an inch? Or a pound? What do you do to calibrate scales?  Or measuring instruments? 

The answer is you use a meter, a kilogram and a second to generate all your so called superior units.

 

I wasn't going to answer the stupidity, but now you've opened that can anyway...

The Apollo flight computers were programmed in SI (metric). And one of the most embarrassing and avoidable American space flight fuckups to date was due to confusion between the 2. NASA now uses exclusively SI for that reason.

The moon landings succeeded in spite of an extra layer of complexity, rather than because of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

A lot of people talk about their weight in stones and pounds too, it is a weird blend

About 30 years ago we still talked about people's weight in stones. But now everyone exclusively uses Kg, except with babies, somehow with new borns people are still better able to conceptualise the size of a new born when expresserd in pounds and ounces. Similar with height, people can still picture 6ft in their head better than 1.83m / 183cm.

2 hours ago, Impmk2 said:

I wasn't going to answer the stupidity, but now you've opened that can anyway...

The Apollo flight computers were programmed in SI (metric). And one of the most embarrassing and avoidable American space flight fuckups to date was due to confusion between the 2. NASA now uses exclusively SI for that reason.

The moon landings succeeded in spite of an extra layer of complexity, rather than because of it.

Indeed, in the video I posted above it says the US military converted exclusively to SI a long time ago. Also the USA passed the metric act (exact name I can't recall) in the 60s, but made converting to metric voluntary. The direction of travel since then has all been one way, moving to metric. So the US has been officially metric since before the moon landing*.

Edit

*Alleged :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

About 30 years ago we still talked about people's weight in stones. But now everyone exclusively uses Kg, except with babies, somehow with new borns people are still better able to conceptualise the size of a new born when expresserd in pounds and ounces. Similar with height, people can still picture 6ft in their head better than 1.83m / 183cm.

Indeed, in the video I posted above it says the US military converted exclusively to SI a long time ago. Also the USA passed the metric act (exact name I can't recall) in the 60s, but made converting to metric voluntary. The direction of travel since then has all been one way, moving to metric. So the US has been officially metric since before the moon landing*.

Edit

*Alleged :P

Actually Thomas Jefferson started the US on the road to the metric system. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/26/2019 at 9:41 PM, mcbigski said:

Two kinds of countries.  Moon walkers and metrics.

Eta America fuck yeah!

I know this is trolling and not looking for a serious answer, but as an American, I'm curious:  don't China and Russia use the metric system?  They've walked on the moon too, I thought.  Or was that before they switched to metric, at least officially?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...