Will America give up the Inch?

[Roadbridge]

Taking up from friartucks thread on "Who inveted metric?"

I'd like to ask the question.Will America(i.e U.S.A) ever give up the imperial system and convert to metric.

Has it ever being considered or will pigs fly first?

 

[Heckler]

I guess we can blame the French!

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/metric.html

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.

 

[casseopeia]

I do all school work in SI, whether its an engineering course, chemistry or astronomy (except there its usually light years or AU's).

Only at work do I have to use Imperial. I could easily switch to metric with construction drawings, but there seems to be a built-in resistance. It's just not as easy to refer to a 2x4 as a 102x51 (nominal). More like an 89x38 actual.

And if we do change to completely metric, what do I call a 2x4 stud or a 4x4 post? Do I use the 'old' sizes that are not made anymore, or the 'new' size?

 

[friartuck]

What we will all end up with is a bastardised system. We will be able to understand to a degree both sets of units. The younger folk will understand metric better, but still use imperial as well.


Having being 'converted' as a child in 1970 (ish), I still use both systems and to a lesser extent, so do my kids.

We still use pints (in pubs), and my son is 6'4" tall (big lad for 17), and he measures his room as being 'about 14' x 3m. Strange but true.

When I survey a building (funnily enough I dis one today), the pipework was 2" diameter, 4m long and 89" off the floor. (my survey drawing was handed to the technician in the office who merrily drew all the services without a mutter or a moan.

So in answer to your question, Yes, you will adapt and change....thats life


Friar Tuck of Sherwood

 

[IRstuff]

Sure, no sweat. Navy system requirements from a previous contract:

speed: kt
range: yd
visibility: nmi
altitude: ft ASL
dimension: m
cable length: ft
weight: lb
large angles: deg
small angles: microradian



TTFN

 

[imagitec]

VirtualEngineer wrote:

Admittedly, adding a column of figures involving feet, inches and fractions was at one time a laborious and tedious process. These days however, it presents no problem to someone with a calculator to make necessary conversions.

My HP48GX could handle that task and other unit conversions, but it was certainly tedious. And you're out of luck with any calculator under $90.

Consider a kilogram, unit of mass right? Yet it is still regularly used as a unit of force. What is a metric ton except 1000 Kg? Rarely do you see KN used, even on european drawings, if you do the numbers get out of sight very quickly. They are just not friendly.

The four years I was at my previous company, I used newtons. Tons, metric or otherwise, would have been odd. I believe this may be an issue of what is appropriate for the task at hand as well as standard conversions developed for particular industries or tasks.

Rob Campbell, PE
Finite Monkeys -

http://www.livejournal.com/users/robcampbell

 

[MikeyP]

Haggis,

If I were you I would find a new pub to drink at if your "water of life" comes in 3.69 ml doses! That's a heck of a lot of trips to the bar to get a full measure. At least in England and Wales spirits sold in bars must be in multiples of 25 or 35 ml.

M

--
Dr Michael F Platten

 

[ScottyUK]

I think Haggis has slipped the decimal point after a dram too many. That sounds like a 1/4 Gill measure if my barman memories haven't totally deserted me.

I'm guilty of the same sort of thing as Friar Tuck with mixing measurements, but only when estimating. When measuring accurately it's always millimetres or metres.


----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

 

[haggis]

MikeyP and ScottyUK,

You are indeed right about the measures usually sold in bars however, the measure of a dram is indeed 3.69 ml. Where I came from, a dram is a slang term for a shot of whisky regardless of it's actual measure. I think the best place to discuss this would be a site visit.

 

[IRstuff]

Whew!! ~7/10 of a tsp would be pretty dismal ;-)

TTFN

 

[johnwm]

Just about the only place where cl (centilitres) is used in the real world is in alcoholic drinks, and here in an engineering forum we confuse it with ml (millilitres)!

Good Luck
johnwm
________________________________________________________
To get the best from these forums read faq731-376 before posting

UK steam enthusiasts:

http://www.essexsteam.co.uk

 

[zdas04]

I'm starting to see folks use kg/cm^2 for pressure. That seems to be a bastardization of the language on a par with the parts of the "Imperial system" that everyone is complaining about.

David

 

[MikeyP]

This "dram" thing has got me thinking. Another pro for the SI is that is (by definition) an INTERNATIONAL system. A "dram" as a unit of volume (rather than an informal expression for a drink of whisky) is defined as 1/8th of a fluid ounce which means that it varies depending on whether you are in the US or not as the US fluid ounce is different to the rest of the world (source: Wikipedia).

M

--
Dr Michael F Platten

 

[unclesyd]

I will never give up an/the inch.

Didn't the inch come to the aid of one mm and whip the other mm not long ago.


The dram was used as pharmaceutical measurement for many years. All liquid prescription bottles US were marked with both fluid ounces and drams.

 

[haggis]

unclesyd's post kind of backs me up when I tell my wife that my "wee dram" is strictly for medicinal purposes.

 

[unclesyd]

haggis,

You don't realize how close you are to the truth.
My first job was in drugstore, the name at the time, and one of my jobs was to help bottle the "Spring Tonic". The druggist would buy some awful tasting vitamin tonic and cut it 50/50v with sherry wine and dash of sugar. Later most good tonics (patent medicines) were 20% alcohol.

 

[IRstuff]

Nyquil still is ;-)

TTFN

 

[DrillerNic]

In the UK many Chemists still have a license to sell alcoholic drinks...

One around here only stock selling tonic wine because of the "Bucky Boys"- 12 & 13 year olds who'd get gassed on tonic wine bought from this chemists.

 

[EddyC]

When I worked on older cars I hated the fact that the next size up from a 9/16" wrench was a 5/8" wrench. Now with newer cars, it takes much less thought to go from a 8mm wrench to a 9mm wrench. I've also noticed that bearings are mostly in metric. But I'm willing to work with either system. Whatever the world decides.