Imperial Or Metric?

[Fetus4188]

How is celcius imprecise? At 1 atm, water boils at 100, and freezes at 0, not to mention that each celcius degree is equal to one kelvin. Easy as pie.

Gabriel Farhenheit simply measured the 'coldest temperature he could imagine' for 0 degrees (supposedly outdoors in winter in Germany) and used his own body temperature for 100 degrees (which he got wrong, since body temp in F is 98.6). It's 5/9 of a kelvin.

Fahrenheit designed a scale that would be easy to standardize and produce. He chose 32 degrees for freezing because it could be easily divided into halves again and again to get 1 unit increments. The scale was decided by setting 96 to body temperature (obviously he was a little off). This gave him 64 unit that can again be evenly divided into halves. Freezing and body are temperatures that are easy to use for calibrating the thermometers and the powers of 2 allowed for accurate increments.

 

[Mathilda]

Freezing and body are temperatures that are easy to use for calibrating the thermometers and the powers of 2 allowed for accurate increments.

How is body tempreture reliable for calibration?
Body temperatures vary a LOT from person to person and depending on the time of day/month etc.
For example for my son a normal body temperature is 35,6 - for me 36,8.

 

[Fetus4188]

At the time of the scale's creation it was far more accurate than any other system. And more importantly it could be created by just about anyone. A temperature scale is pretty useless if it can't get to the hands of the scientists.

 

[wit>trope]

In terms of temperature, Farhenheit has its advantages actually to Celcius (but this is not really metric issue since Farhenhiet is metric too if you think about it)

With F there's more "dynamic range" if you will. Freezing to "room" temperature is spread out from 32 to say 70 which would be a "dynamic range" of 38. Where as for celsius it's spread from 0 to say 20 (i'm sure that's off but it's close enough). So F is basically in effect for the common people TWICE as accurate (unless celcius people use a digit past the decimal point -- i.e. 33.7 degrees celsius which I don't think they do)

 

[Winner]

In terms of temperature, Farhenheit has its advantages actually to Celcius (but this is not really metric issue since Farhenhiet is metric too if you think about it)

With F there's more "dynamic range" if you will. Freezing to "room" temperature is spread out from 32 to say 70 which would be a "dynamic range" of 38. Where as for celsius it's spread from 0 to say 20 (i'm sure that's off but it's close enough). So F is basically in effect for the common people TWICE as accurate (unless celcius people use a digit past the decimal point -- i.e. 33.7 degrees celsius which I don't think they do)

It's just twice as confusing. Water freezes at 0°C - that's cold. It boils at 100°C - that's very hot. It's logical and intuitive. Fahrenheit scale is a total nonsense for me, impractical to use, too abstract. I know what's my body temperature is - it's about 36°C. If I want it more accuratelly, it's 36.6°C. No need for another scale.

 

[Winner]

Looks like the World is almost completely "metrified", with the US being the black sheep (that's a Czech saying - it means the US is an outsider ).

 

[classical_hero]

Thankfully we use just metric. It took us a while to break away from the mother country, but we did it.

 

[kryszcztov]

@ Mathilda : 35.6 °C for your son ??? You're sure he is OK ? I always learned the normal temperature was 37 °C (maybe it needs tuning), but that is rather cold... I also learned that below 35 °C you're in death danger of freezing, but is it due to you guys living in the far north ?

@ Winner : Those maps with the USA almost alone, with a few countries like Rangoon's military regime, or sometimes Saddam's Irak, make me laugh. They're always the black sheep in something. (Try the maps from the UNESCO too, that's fun !)

 

[classical_hero]

I think he should be more worried of the closer black sheep, since it is in striking distance.

 

[Winner]

I think he should be more worried of the closer black sheep, since it is in striking distance.

Nah, Britain is being slowly, but deliberately Europeanized. The next step will be the cuisine

 

[Marla_Singer]

It's funny but why do I think there's a correlation between France being blue and Britain and the US being black in that map ?

 

[Stapel]

The metric system truly is a better system, but I hate using it. It makes more sense logically and scientifically, but I didn't grow up using it, so I doubt I will ever be truly at east with it.

I remember I was in the UK for 3 weeks in 1987 and found it amazingly easy to adapt the totally ridiculous and unlogic imperial system.

It was fun to work with it, I guess. However, fun or no fun, the system is truely idiot.

 

[sysyphus]

Looks like the World is almost completely "metrified", with the US being the black sheep (that's a Czech saying - it means the US is an outsider ).

Actually, that coloquialism is used in English as well.

So what system is Bruma (or Myanmar or whatever) using?

 

[Winner]

Actually, that coloquialism is used in English as well.

Well then, I am not very familiar with English proverbs and sayings, so I sometimes have to translate some of our own.

 

[Blazer6]

You had your chance with Metric decades ago but all you got out of that was the 2 liter bottle. Switching to Metric again would be too expensive to change all the building materials, so it will never happen. Imperial all the way.

 

[Mathilda]

@ Mathilda : 35.6 °C for your son ??? You're sure he is OK ? I always learned the normal temperature was 37 °C (maybe it needs tuning), but that is rather cold... I also learned that below 35 °C you're in death danger of freezing, but is it due to you guys living in the far north ?

Between 36,5 and 37 seems normal for most people in my experience.
I know it's strange, but he's almost eight now and has alway been the same.
I've figured that it's ok for him as he's overall very healthy and quite rarely ill.
He doesn't really seem to suffer from the cold weather, it's allways been a strugle to get him to wear warm clothes.

 

[sysyphus]

You had your chance with Metric decades ago but all you got out of that was the 2 liter bottle. Switching to Metric again would be too expensive to change all the building materials, so it will never happen. Imperial all the way.

Other countries have done it, I don't see why the US can't.

The American military operates in metric by the way.

 

[Truronian]

Britain's current generations are metric, we just leave it Imperial for the old folk . I can't actually work in Imperial, and neither can anyone I know (of my age).

 

[Pillager]

Imperial, obviously.

Metric is for Communists and the French.

 

[sysyphus]

Imperial, obviously.

Metric is for Communists and the French.

So everywhere in the world outside the USA is either communist or French?