billvon 2,998
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billvon 2,998
>Why should the U.S. change over to metric?
>Both systems are just as "accurate" and there are actually several
> advantages to using "Imperial" units.
Like what? (other than we're used to it)
The SI system has some big advantages to engineers. One issue is that everything's the same - wavelengths of light are measured in the same standard as distance between pins on an IC and distances a vehicle travels. This reduces translation errors. Right now we have a hodgepodge of systems, and conversion errors creep in. (And no, we can't use English units for everything - RF wavelenghts are measured only in SI, for example.)
Don't think translation errors are a big deal? They've already caused several boards to not work here at Qualcomm. And we did all the translation steps right - the issue is that when a tenth of an inch is 2.54 millimeters, and you add that up over 100 pins, you accumulate errors. I also recall at least one plane crash caused by conversion error, and of course the multi-million-dollar mars probe that was doomed by english units.
Another advantage is that you can stock half as many fasteners, wrenches, rulers etc. Perhaps that's a disadvantage to ruler companies, but it would benefit a lot of other people.
>Both systems are just as "accurate" and there are actually several
> advantages to using "Imperial" units.
Like what? (other than we're used to it)
The SI system has some big advantages to engineers. One issue is that everything's the same - wavelengths of light are measured in the same standard as distance between pins on an IC and distances a vehicle travels. This reduces translation errors. Right now we have a hodgepodge of systems, and conversion errors creep in. (And no, we can't use English units for everything - RF wavelenghts are measured only in SI, for example.)
Don't think translation errors are a big deal? They've already caused several boards to not work here at Qualcomm. And we did all the translation steps right - the issue is that when a tenth of an inch is 2.54 millimeters, and you add that up over 100 pins, you accumulate errors. I also recall at least one plane crash caused by conversion error, and of course the multi-million-dollar mars probe that was doomed by english units.
Another advantage is that you can stock half as many fasteners, wrenches, rulers etc. Perhaps that's a disadvantage to ruler companies, but it would benefit a lot of other people.
zyne 0
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Or convert America to metric at long last..hmm wonder which will happen first.. poll?
You guys better not go metric!!! It took me a good 2 years learning your weird ass measuring system. If you go metric I'll have to relearn it all again LOL
Why should the U.S. change over to metric?
Both systems are just as "accurate" and there are actually several advantages to using "Imperial" units.Quote
Have you ever tried doing quantum mechanics using Imperial units?
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Have you ever tried doing quantum mechanics using Imperial units?
At the quantum level all of the traditional laws of physics sort of break down. Why should the units used be any different?
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quade 4
The issue is not with the unit of measurement, but the conversion.
If the metric system had never been invented and you only used Imperial units, there would be no problem.
If the metric system had never been invented and you only used Imperial units, there would be no problem.
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billvon 2,998
>If the metric system had never been invented and you only used
>Imperial units, there would be no problem.
Just a lot more conversions. Converting miles to the new Imperial unit for, say, wavelength would require a lot more than moving a decimal point.
>Imperial units, there would be no problem.
Just a lot more conversions. Converting miles to the new Imperial unit for, say, wavelength would require a lot more than moving a decimal point.
NZL60 0
jeez.. sorry to open this can of worms 
but the question was(at lesat intended).. which first, Man on Mars or USA converting to Metric?
Who said Kiwis can't fly?
but the question was(at lesat intended).. which first, Man on Mars or USA converting to Metric? Who said Kiwis can't fly?
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Just a lot more conversions. Converting miles to the new Imperial unit for, say, wavelength would require a lot more than moving a decimal point.
And still no more or less accurate.
Also, are you suggesting that there have never been engineering failures due to a misplaced decimal point? I certainly hope not.
The entire concept of units used for every day human based interaction is completely arbitrary. If you think about it, there's really nothing special about the distance from the equator to the pole and there's certainly nothing special about the number 10,000,000, yet that's the entire basis for the original metric system upon which the SI is defined.
Of course, the meter has now been defined a bit differently.
From the NIST web site:
Quote
The meter is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.
So, tell me, how f'ed up is that? Where's the perfect base 10 beauty in the number? Further, it's also based on a time element, which is also completely arbitrary.
Again from the NIST web site:
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The second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom
Excuse me? Hello! Where's your Base 10 perfection now?
And what the heck makes cesium 133 so freekin' special?
I'm tellin' ya, it's all arbitrary!
To an average person going about their normal lives, a liter is no more or less accurate than a gallon. A centimeter no more or less accurate than an inch. A kilometer no more or less accurate than a mile.
Exceed the arbitrary number on the speed limit sign and you still are in violation.
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Not a can of worms.
Just a favorite little engineering argument of mine.
I'm almost certain that both Professor Kallend and billvon know I'm only semi-serious in my convictions on these points.
I mean, I'm not exactly a luddite member of the flat earth society and I think they know that as well.
Just a favorite little engineering argument of mine.
I'm almost certain that both Professor Kallend and billvon know I'm only semi-serious in my convictions on these points.
I mean, I'm not exactly a luddite member of the flat earth society and I think they know that as well.
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Quote>I'd rather pay people to work on the space program than give the
>money to give it to people who are looking for a hand-out.
I don't think I'd want to fly in a spacecraft built by people who prefer to be on welfare.
I agree. Who said that they did? I'm making a simple point, paying salaries to working people is preferable to giving welfare to non-producing people IMO. That is why I believe that space exploration is not a waste of money. The many people that will benefit will pay taxes, buy homes and cars, send their children to college, etc. Seems to make more sense than giving it away to crackheads.
never pull low......unless you are
NZL60 0
ok.. phew.. umm the earth isn't flat?
Who said Kiwis can't fly?
QuoteGravity is a lie invented by the purveyors of the inherently false spherical Earth theory. The theory of gravity has never been proven. There is no gravity, only inertia. The Earth moves through space like a giant elevator. We do not fall off because we are kept down by inertia. The Earth has inertia.
There is a school of thought which states, however, that the Earth does not move through space, but rather that it rests on the back of a giant turtle, and that what we call gravity is, in fact, the turtle's animal magnetism.
Who said Kiwis can't fly?
SkyDekker 1,465
QuoteExcuse me? Hello! Where's your Base 10 perfection now?
And what the heck makes cesium 133 so freekin' special?
I'm tellin' ya, it's all arbitrary!
To an average person going about their normal lives, a liter is no more or less accurate than a gallon. A centimeter no more or less accurate than an inch. A kilometer no more or less accurate than a mile.
Exceed the arbitrary number on the speed limit sign and you still are in violation.
All very true. I grew up with the metric system and since I moved to Canada have had to learn the imperial units as well.
I truly find the metric system easier, mainly because it is more logical. It is far easier to remember that a kilometer is 1000 meters and hence a Kilogram is 1000 grams. It is easier than 12 inches in a foot, but then three feet in a yard and then 1760 yards in a mile.
benny 0
I don't think the real question here is between going to mars or giving money to crackheads. I mean, there are roads that need repaired, teachers that need to be paid, sick people who need care (some of these uninsured people actually work), schools that need to be built, etc, etc. Hell, I'm all for going to Mars but the fact of the matter is that we'll have to get all those future astronauts and engineers from overseas thanks to Bushies every child left behind act...
Never go to a DZ strip show.
Never go to a DZ strip show.
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I truly find the metric system easier, mainly because it is more logical. It is far easier to remember that a kilometer is 1000 meters and hence a Kilogram is 1000 grams. It is easier than 12 inches in a foot, but then three feet in a yard and then 1760 yards in a mile.
However, as I said, Imperial units -do- have their advantages.
For instance, try to divide a meter into -exactly- three equal parts.
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SkyDekker 1,465
QuoteHowever, as I said, Imperial units -do- have their advantages.
For instance, try to divide a meter into -exactly- three equal parts.
True and I am sure that for engineers this is all very interesting and usefull
However, for your every day household use, the metric system is so much easier.
QuoteI don't think the real question here is between going to mars or giving money to crackheads.
It's the question that I was dealing with.
never pull low......unless you are
benny 0
well then that's what's known a rhetorical questions, aka basically pointless
Never go to a DZ strip show.
Never go to a DZ strip show.
Quotewell then that's what's known a rhetorical questions, aka basically pointless
And your point is?
never pull low......unless you are
wmw999 2,452
I think the point is that it's unlikely that there is a one-to-one correspondence between money not spent on going to Mars and money spent on crackheads.
I could postulate that money not spent on going to Mars would go to pay back the national debt.
Wendy W.
I could postulate that money not spent on going to Mars would go to pay back the national debt.
Wendy W.
There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)
benny 0
QuoteQuotewell then that's what's known a rhetorical questions, aka basically pointless
And your point is?
None, other than the fact that I was trying to lean into a discussion with some merit.... Like, are we just gonna give billions of dollars to crackheads... No. Is there some place that our tax dollars could be spent better than sending people to Mars. Probably. To me, I see Bush as a kid in a candy store so to speak. He has no problem throwing money at things that lift off or blow up. However, when it comes to important stuff like education he's all "fiscal conservative". My ass, fiscal idiot is more like it.
Never go to a DZ strip show.
QuoteQuoteQuotewell then that's what's known a rhetorical questions, aka basically pointless
And your point is?
None, other than the fact that I was trying to lean into a discussion with some merit.... Like, are we just gonna give billions of dollars to crackheads... No. Is there some place that our tax dollars could be spent better than sending people to Mars. Probably. To me, I see Bush as a kid in a candy store so to speak. He has no problem throwing money at things that lift off or blow up. However, when it comes to important stuff like education he's all "fiscal conservative". My ass, fiscal idiot is more like it.
I think that a good education system would be compatible with a trip to mars. Some of todays first graders will be working on it when they graduate.
never pull low......unless you are
benny 0
this assumes or schools are good enough to get them to that level, which assumes we might spend some money on them, pay some teachers and shizzie like that. but wait, we don't fund those programs, we've got neato missiles and shit to play around with! Yay!
Never go to a DZ strip show.
Never go to a DZ strip show.
Quotethis assumes or schools are good enough to get them to that level, which assumes we might spend some money on them, pay some teachers and shizzie like that. but wait, we don't fund those programs, we've got neato missiles and shit to play around with! Yay!
Yeah, if we paid all teachers $100k per year, we would have the smartest kids in the world.
never pull low......unless you are
quade 4
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Yeah, if we paid all teachers $100k per year, we would have the smartest kids in the world.
We'd definitely be able to be more selective in which teachers we hire as the higher pay would make it more attractive for a larger pool of more intelligent and well educated people.
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>money to give it to people who are looking for a hand-out.
I don't think I'd want to fly in a spacecraft built by people who prefer to be on welfare.
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