georgeob1 wrote: Even NASA uses inches and pounds -now.
And they are - as standard- being defined in terms of the meter
About a year ago we did some highway design, doing the layout for the "bulb outs" and median strips and figuring out where the driveways went, etc., for a town on a highway in our area. It then went to the engineers who worked out some intricacies. We had a problem in that wasn't the only job the two of us were working on... so we were working in metric, and in 1/8 and 1/4" architectural scales and 1/10" engineering scale, and we had to almost slap our own hands to keep it all straight.
Walter Hinteler wrote:
And they are - as standard- being defined in terms of the meter
Well, you are right, Walter. However we can hardly use the length of the King's foot anymore, after the revolution and all !
But then you referred to a froggie standard - quelle malheur!
We don't use the Imperial standard, we use U.S. Standard. This matters--five ounces Imperial equal six ounces U.S. Therefore, when, in the late 1970's, i was sucking down pints of stout in Ireland, which then still used the Imperial standard, i was actually getting 20 ounces U.S. Standard with each pint which i purchased.
The difference may have been largely illusory, but it greatly added to my enjoyment, being the cheap man that i am. (Perhaps the legacy of my Scots great-grandmother.)
nice one Setanta
slante
or slanted
or leaning over a little
or whatever it is in Gallic.
Ireland is full of surprises, and full of lovely people. Their brains are wired differently, but lovely people.
But what I really meant to post was this
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1279603,00.html
one quote
" We live in the happiest, healthiest and most peaceful era of human history. And it wont last long".
Steve, what was that about Rummy going? Have I missed something?
Glaciers in Tibet and Nepal: what a good article by the excellent Mr Monbiot. I have only one small quibble. Disappearance of the ice doesn't mean the water has disappeared. So the river will not disappear. No doubt however the annual cycle of water in the asian rivers will change, though.
The Greenland ice cap is disappearing, at a rate of about one metre thickness (that's right) a year.
My hypothesis for Yellowstone National Park (super volcano) is the USA government should offer large subsidies for extracting geo thermal energy even close to the top scenic attractions. Removing a few gigawatts of energy should delay the eruption and or reduce it's severity. We may never know even if we try, so more studies are likely a waste of money. Neil
Seems plausible to me Neil, but you'll never get it past the environmentalists.
It's amazing how thin our earth's crust is in places, and how mobile still the tectonic plates are.
I have read, the Himalayas are so high because India is still moving north, pushing them up.
So I think, drilling a few holes is not going to change things a lot. Man is puny in comparison. He is capable enough though, unfortunately, of altering the armosphere.
Hey, just had a thought: another large volcanic eruption (lots of ash in the upper atmosphere) will cool the earth down again. Maybe Mother Earth will
heal herself by coughing, and freezing a lot of us out.
Quote:Steve, what was that about Rummy going? Have I missed something?
Certain amount of wishful thinking on my behalf McT
A few months ago I thought he was a gonner.
(never bothered to change my signature line)
but in a few months time, it might come back in fashion
Interesting weather news the last week or two related to the topic of global warming. I can't find the article now but saw one in which they are predicting a very cold and snowy winter. Has anyone else seen it?
I did run across this which was interesting:
Quote:How Might Hurricanes Change with Global Warming?
By Roy Spencer (excerpted)
The recent hurricane action in Florida now begs the question, how might hurricanes change with global warming? A recent study published in the Journal of Climate by researchers at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, used nine different low-resolution climate models to predict how those models' warmed climates would affect a high-resolution model that is used to "grow" hurricanes. For the warming experienced in response to 80 years of carbon dioxide increases at 1% per year, the average model response was to increase hurricane maximum wind speeds by 6% and precipitation by 18% within 100 km of the storm center (that's where most of the action is). This led the authors to conclude, "greenhouse gas-induced warming may lead to a gradually increasing risk (of) the occurrence of highly destructive category-5 storms".
Whole article at:
http://www.techcentralstation.com/100704D.htm
McTag, In preparation for my trip to Antarctica, it has been proven by scientists that the tectonic plates between the southern continents and Antarctica are increasing with proof that they were once connected through fossils and plants. It also talks about the explorers Magellan, Drake, and Cook, and how far south they traveled, and their names used in that area.
Well that's fabulous, c.i., you are going to Antarctica? I was contemplating a tour to Patagonia seriously a month or two ago, but that will not now happen. But great, I hope it is as fascinating as I know it will be.
There is a big new series on BBC television at the moment which deals with the geological history and natural history of the British Isles (you can pick up details on their website) which is the usual high-quality product and most fascinating on the subject of movement of tectonic plates, and migration of what are now the continents.
Among a welter of facts: the lump of rock which is now Britain used to be on the equator, and was joined to the lump of rock which is now North America. There was no Atlantic Ocean then. Nowadays, the Atlantic is still widening, at a speed equivalent to the growth of your fingernails.
Good series. It will come to you eventually I suppose.
McTag comments that the Atlantic is still widening. Why is that? Are all the earth's plates floating on liquid magma? If so, does liquid magma work like other liquids on earth; ie with ripples and waves when disturbed? Could it be the plates are just now moving out with a ripple but at some point will surge back the other way?
The plates themselves are continuously being enlarged and fed by volcanic upwellings, many on the ocean floor - in the Atlantic it is at the mid Atlantic ridge, a chain of submerged moutains that extends from Jan Mayen near the Artic to the Faulklands in the South Atlantic. At opposite plate interfaces one plate overrides the other, driving the subducted plate down into the magma below. So the earth's crust is not only moving, it is also being continuusly created and destroyed.
A very sound, but politically unlikely means of disposing of nuclear waste is to package them in suitably designed containers and drop them on the ocean floor in known deep subduction zones, in places where there is a high sedimentation rate. The materials will quickly be covered by a thick blanket of sediment and will slowly be driven into the magma below. The geological period for their recyclng would be many times the period required for their complete radiological decay.
McTag, When I visited the Galapagos Islands last year, I picked up a book by Simon Winchester on the biogrophy of geologist William Smith. I wonder if that BBC program you mentioned has anything on Smith in their program, because what Smith did in England is in of itself very fascinating stuff. I highly recommend the book, "The Map That Changed the World."
A look on the BBC search engine found this entry:
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/William-Smith-%28geologist%29
Thanks c.i., I'll look out for the book- I think I could order a copy from our local library service.
McT
