au1929 wrote:The metric system may be easier but not for someone brought up on the imperial numbering one. The only way is to teach the young and have them grow up in it. Than and only than can the conversion happen.
I agree and disagree. You do have to find a starting point and start teaching people so they eventually all evolve at a comfort level receptive to the change. However, dragging it out for so long has only prolonged the confusion.
It isn't all that much different from when we converted from record albums to 8 track to cassette to CD and now MP3. You just have to throw the switch and do it rather then trying to appease everyone with maintaining a supermarket of alternate comfort levels.
You don't have to learn the metric system if you know basic math
You do have to get used to it but that takes no learning.
The crucial difference between the metric and Imperial system is that you do actually have to learn the imperial system in addition to getting used to it.
I'm really surprised that the business sector isn't championing the conversion more strongly. Seems like it would be a rather significant cost savings for them to only have to package items in one form of measurement rather then the many flavors international companies now have to accommodate.
Roger
It is not as simple as getting a metric micrometer. What about all the other measuring tools. Height gages, Jo blocks, thread gages, calipers and on and on. that need be discarded. Aside from that machines with feeds not calibrated in metric measurements would have to be converted. Assuming that to be only a problem of cost considerable cost I might add, it would still leave us with a people problem since both the machinist, tool and die maker, setup man and the inspector and, etc., must make calculations. As I remember it that is why it never came to pass.
Roger
I should add I have been retired for 12 years and have no idea what manufacturing practices are today.
Our manufacturing is US standards; but marketing material are provided both ways.
We went money metric in 1966, and the rest metric later than that.
Heights in centimetres? Faugh! I have to convert if it is to mean anything.
I am bilingual in Celsius and Fahrenheit.
Human measurements in centimetres? Faugh again!
Distance in metres and such, fine.
Human weights in kilogarams? Nup.
Food weights - yep.
I think the US should do whatever it damn well pleases! As it does....
Well, yeah, all gauges with calibrations will have to be replaced, but even in 1982 I was running lathes with both English and metric thread leads, and you didn't have to replace gears to do it, either. Expensive, yes. Pay now and save later. Yes, calculations need to be made and will continue to be made. So, a shaft diameter and corrosponding hole (journal) are specified in thousandths of an inch. Your stock and drill bits come in fractions of an inch. No calculations here? I've heard machinists
say things like 3 7/32" plus a BCH. Now c'mon!
What the US wants (to cling to tradition) is not what is best (to use a more sensible system) IMOSVHO.
Roger
Making tools and dies requires a lot more than running a lathe. I addition if you are familiar with sheet metal manufacture,bend allowances,single punching, bending angles by brake you know it means constant calculations. Not easy for someone who never used or understands the metric system. As they say it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
I am relatively sure that were it easy and less expensive the conversion would have been.
We mostly use the metric system here in Sandland, so after 11 years it's no big problem for me. Degrees celsius and centimeters are almost second nature now, but I still have problems with kilopaschals for pressure.
I grew up with the imperial system, but since I've moved to Canada over 3 years ago, I still can't seem to get use to the metric system :-(
This poll is irrelevant for me. I've used the metric system all my life. Despite the existence of many US texts involved at uni, we're ignoring the imperial measurements in them now too.
au1929 wrote:Roger
Making tools and dies requires a lot more than running a lathe. I addition if you are familiar with sheet metal manufacture,bend allowances,single punching, bending angles by brake you know it means constant calculations. Not easy for someone who never used or understands the metric system. As they say it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
I am relatively sure that were it easy and less expensive the conversion would have been.
Americans are the most unchangeable people in the world. Because so many of them don't realise that there is actually a world outside their borders, they don't realise they're about the only country left still using the imperial system. As for them using it to get to the moon, that would be true if there had actually been a moon landing. (something I no longer beleive.)
IMPERIAL/METRIC
Re : Pilot made unforgiveable error. when canada switched from imperial to metric measurement, a commercial airliner was being refueled in montreal for a flight to the west-coast; the problem was that the refueling groundcrew thought they were measuring in IMPERIAL , unfortunately the ACTUAL measurement (probably on the fueltruck) was in LITERS. when they figured the right amount of fuel had been loaded, they notified the airliner-crew that the airplane had been refueled and was ready to go ! somewhere near winnipeg (halfway across canada) the crew noticed that they were running low on fuel. to make things worse, it was a nightflight ! they managed to get enough electrical power (from some kind of a small propeller/fan that measures airspeed, i believe); this enabled them to maintain communication for some time. they eventually managed a GLIDER landing at a long unused military airbase in western canada. i remember the headlines in the newspapers(must have been in the 60/70s); a recreation of the event became a much watched tv-special. luckily no one was hurt and the crew was praised for keeping their cool. i believe that as a consequence of this event pre-flight checks were expanded to include a fuel check by the crew BEFORE take-off. GOOD IDEA ! anyone remember this ? hbg.
IMPERIAL/METRIC
growing up in germany in the 30/40s, we had to learn both metric and basic imperial measurements. inches were commonly used for measurement of nails (though it was called EIN ZOLL - ONE INCH). when i started working in the port and attended trade-school learning imperial measurements was a must, because in trade and shipping imperial measurements were commonly used. so i have no great problem switching between these two measurements. of course it gets a little difficult when you have to calculate the volume of a cargo-container in cubic-feet - and i'm taking about the time when even MECHANICAL calculators were not found in many offices (no, this was not before columbus landed in america ! this was in the 1950's). i still remember when we moved into our house in 1963 and we decided with several neighbours to build a common fence. it was not just a straight line fence and the height varied from lot-to-lot. so it was decided that the cost should be split according to the sqare-footage erected on every lot ! it was a great deal of fun ! one of the neighbours was a math-teacher and when we assigned him the job of converting feet and inches to square-feet and sqare-inches he threw in the towel . finally one of the neighbours, who was a draftsman, made a scale-drawing to work out the proper cost-split. using metric measurements would have been easier, but i was not able to convince the other fellows that METERS were a ligitimate measurement ! hbg. ... i also remember that our high-school teacher insisted that we must be able to convert temperatures from metric to fahrenheit and REAUMUR !
Oh, Hamburger, No! They have tricked you. Even in America, nails are not measured by the inch, but by the penny. A 10d nail is fairly good sized, d being the abbreviation for penny, of course.
All right au, I throw in the towel. Real Men use English measures - right down to the final rod, chain, furlong, yard, foot, and inch. And what are shoe sizes measured in again - barleycorns?
SEE :
www.wadenelson.com/gimli.html should have checked google before writing about the airplane incident. my memory must have had a soldering problem too. sorry. hbg
Roger : see
www.bartleby.com/81/16339.html nails were seized according to inches in length when i grew up (and started working later); probably metric now. a/t bartleby the P or Penny is a corruption of POUND. hbg
