Question for Londoners

[zdas04]

I saw the attached sign in London today. I understand why the 3/4 mile (it still makes me smile), but does "20 tons" mean short tons, long tons, or metric tonnes?

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.

 

[patprimmer]

Well seeing as it's spelled with one n it's not metric.

Also I am sure that the British traditionally use std tons of 2240 lb for vehicle weights if imperial units are used.

Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376 for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm

for site rules

 

[Pud]

1 imperial ton is only 16Kg different from a metric tonne (1000Kg).
I guess the road sign was to avoid a bridge built for a horse and cart, and as the structural person who decided on 20tons was having a guess anyway, 16Kg is neither here nor there. At least the sign stops the 35 tonne(!) trucks going over the bridge.

Here it's illegal to sell bananas (or anything) in lbs and beer in litres or parts thereof. (Beer may be sold in gills, but rarely is it as it has to be sold in a government approved glass, and I for one have never seen one for a gill) Whisky and other spirits are sold in cm^3 "units" of 25cm^3 or 35cm^3.

Kids at school do not learn ft/ins/miles, yet all road distances and speeds are in miles/mph.

No wonder all kids are confused when they leave skool!

www.tynevalleyplastics.co.uk

Why be happy when you can be normal?

 

[Pud]

Oh, and I'm not a Londoner, thank you...

www.tynevalleyplastics.co.uk

Why be happy when you can be normal?

 

[zdas04]

I'm not at all anti SI. I'm anti self-importance. People that say "SI is perfect, everything else is shitte" make me tired.

I just love examples of hard core SI locations being happy with one of the old units (I especially like "stone") when the SI units are just not human scale.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.

 

[BigInch]

Harry Belefonte said that bananas are sold in 6', 7' or 8' "bunches". That's pretty close to "human scale".

What would you be doing, if you knew that you could not fail?

 

[zdas04]

Not had your coffee yet this morning?

 

[BigInch]

ONLY two double expressos. I'm coming up with those and you're intending to say I need another? OK, it was a couple of hours ago. Lunch in 15 minutes. I'll get another.

What would you be doing, if you knew that you could not fail?

 

[hokie66]

I wonder how many measures there are for alcohol sales. Pud notes that sales of spirits in the UK are sold in cm^3, and in Australia they are measured in ml...same thing. In the US, you buy a pint or a fifth. Most out of the US wouldn't know that a fifth is 1/5 of a US gallon, or 4/5 of a US quart.

A stubby of beer in Oz is 375 ml, but a lot of the imported and fancy stuff is only 330 ml, so we resist buying it. When we buy a beer on tap, it is a mini, midi, pot, schooner, and a few other names depending on the state...unless it is a British or Irish beer, in which case the barkeep will sell us a pint.

 

[BigInch]

No pints in the US, unless it's some fancy imported beer, I think it's still 12 oz (355 ml) in a bottle, is it not, or is it only cans now, (oz, not to be confused with capital "O"z). Full quarts, yes. Uconeer says a liter is pretty close to 1/5 of a UK gallon. None of that hardly matters though as the only truely important measure for beer is flow rate.



What would you be doing, if you knew that you could not fail?

 

[JStephen]

I was thumbing through the almanac the other day, and noticed the "barrel" used for liquor is variable, and different from the petroleum barrel as well.

It is interesting to me that some of these units get repeated in reference books when, to my knowledge, they haven't actually been used by ANYONE for a 100 years. I can see listing them in a table of "historical units" but when you list the "customary" units, and include units that simply aren't used, it's a bit odd.

I learned all about the SI system in school. But I still don't know what a dyne is. I suppose crossword puzzle editors are the only ones still using the term.

 

[patprimmer]

To quote a statement allegedly made by Noah when given the plans for the Arc "What the heck is a Cubid"

And yes I do have a conversion factor.

Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376 for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm

for site rules

 

[BigInch]

Barrel of wine responsible for invention of calculus?

http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/46/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=3499&pf=1

What would you be doing, if you knew that you could not fail?

 

[zdas04]

I looked at my OLD non-classified portion of my Nuclear Power School notes a few years ago and saw a picture of a dying centipede saying "erg". The moral was "a dying centipede says 'erg'" or one erg equals a dyne centimeter, so a dyne is erg/cm. If you know what an erg is you have dynes.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.

 

[BigInch]

Was it radiation sickness that finished him?

What would you be doing, if you knew that you could not fail?

 

[zdas04]

That was our conjecture at the time, but we were all smart assed 17-20 year olds.

 

[JStephen]

One of my math books has my sketch of Tom Swift in the Complex Plane. Part of it is imaginary.

 

[SomptingGuy]

Beer always came in 440ml cans in the UK. Then some of the companies started to sell it in 500ml cans, with "13.6% free" splashed all over them. I never really knew why 440ml had been the standard size - maybe it was a conversion from an old imperial volume. 454g is a popular weight for foodstuff.

- Steve

 

[zdas04]

Of course 454 gm is 1 lb

 

[BigInch]

440 ml is suspiciously close to a US pint.
Oh no wonder a UK pint looks so big. Its 20% larger than a US pint.

What would you be doing, if you knew that you could not fail?