Imperial Or Metric?

[MCdread]

According to some rough math without the use of a calculator, my car gets 27.5 miles per gallon. Petrol... is it just me or does that sound like the name of a muscle, "I pulled my petrol muscle in the baseball game yesterday." Only in certain context of course

The main reason I don't like the Metric system is because of its distance measurement. Miles are longer than kilometers, thus there are less of them between say my house and the state capital. And since I despise spending long amounts of time in the car, I don't like anything that would make a trip seem longer (even though it isn't really)

Yeah, but with Kph it seems you're driving faster. Typical speeds in mph make it look like you're going at a snail's speed.

 

[Mega Tsunami]

Could someone here explain the imperial systems (both UK and US)?

12 inch = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
yard to x
x to mile?
land mile? sea mile?

ounces to pounds to stones?

pint to gallons?

Any relation between a pint and an ounce? Between a pint and an inch?

12 inches = 1 foot; 3 feet = 1 yard; 1760 yards = 1 mile
16 oz = 1 pound (lb)
14 pounds = 1 stone
8 pints = 1 gallon
1 gallon of water weighs 10 pounds (disgusting – that’s metric! )

For every day use Imperial is OK. If you are a scientist or a schoolboy/girl wanting to pass an exam then metric is the one for you.
Overall metrication wins for me, but only by an inch.

It’s like the 24 hour clock and 60 minutes and seconds etc. We all are used to it and for everyday use it is fine.
Imagine if a scientist was to metricate our time! We would have a day and 10 centidays and 10 millidays, nanodays, kilodays etc etc.
This is one criticism I will make of the metric system it is far too geekily scientific. I hate all those geeky words!

How much better are the imperial words:
Furlong, quart, peck. Bushel, firkin, stone, horsepower etc
And especially the most magic word of all – a pint!

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

Usually, it's not to get more power (horsepower /kiloWatts) but to get more torque (Newtonmeters, in the metrical system).

Which for the most part translates to more power. They have a much higher rate of compression than standard gasoline engines too (20:1 diesel, 8:1 gasoline).They are also quite a challange to start in our freezing Wisconsin winters, because they don't have any spark plugs. They use the heat from the engine or more its' processes to create the spark

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/diesel1.htm

BTW: Howstuffworks is a brilliant website!

I know isn't it !!!

 

[Scuffer]

Diesel cars also give you better economy, which is why they sell so well in Europe, with our higher prices.

 

[kryszcztov]

Diesel cars also give you better economy, which is why they sell so well in Europe, with our higher prices.

That's actually the only reason why many people purchase diesel cars. In the long run it is cheaper. So much for ecology.

So OK, according to someone, Metric is geeky ! So almost the whole world is geeky ? I didn't know that. But maybe the Metric lovers in America are geeky indeed... Just try to picture our countries : I have never met anyone measuring stuff in other than Metric, except for the very peculiar situations (astronomy (light-years, parsecs, astronomical units...), atomic area (and still, nm is usually the unit), etc...). Metric is just as easy-to-use as Imperial in everyday life. Why wouldn't your children all start to learn Metric, since you're too old to do so ? Even the English have almost succeeded in doing so.

 

[Truronian]

The one thing that annnoys me with the matric system is the kilogram. Its the only S.I. unit that already has a prefix added on for scale. Why could they not have either used the gram as the SI unit or changed the name of the kilogram to fit in with the other units? [/geeky rant]

 

[Marla_Singer]

The one thing that annnoys me with the matric system is the kilogram. Its the only S.I. unit that already has a prefix added on for scale. Why could they not have either used the gram as the SI unit or changed the name of the kilogram to fit in with the other units? [/geeky rant]

bah whatever, you don't really care that much of standard units in everyday life.

 

[Steph]

The main reason I don't like the Metric system is because of its distance measurement. Miles are longer than kilometers, thus there are less of them between say my house and the state capital. And since I despise spending long amounts of time in the car, I don't like anything that would make a trip seem longer (even though it isn't really)

Ok. So instead of having 160km to do, you have 100 miles. So the trip is shorter. However, as your car will drive at a speed limit of 55 mph instead of 90 km/h, the trip is "longer"...

 

[Marla_Singer]

Ok. So instead of having 160km to do, you have 100 miles. So the trip is shorter. However, as your car will drive at a speed limit of 55 mph instead of 90 km/h, the trip is "longer"...

Indeed.

When I drive in the US, I always have the feeling to move insanely slowly. First, the speed limits are largely below those in France, but also, as miles are longer the number of remaining miles decrease slower. When there are 300 miles to make, you're already bored when you realize there are still 200 miles to make...

 

[Martacus]

Could someone here explain the imperial systems (both UK and US)?

12 inch = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
yard to x
x to mile?
land mile? sea mile?

ounces to pounds to stones?

pint to gallons?

Any relation between a pint and an ounce? Between a pint and an inch?

Okay, here goes:

12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
220 yards = 1 furlong (rarely used outside of horse-racing)
8 furlongs = 1 mile

sea and land miles are different; I believe the nautical mile has some relation to latitude/longitude measures, and I'm a bit fuzzy on all that stuff, landlubber that I am.

16 drams (rarely used) = 1 ounce
16 ounces = 1 pound
14 pounds = 1 stone (almost exclusively British use)
8 stones = 1 hundredweight
20 hundredweights = 1 ton (British)
2000 pounds = 1 ton/short ton (US)

2 pints = 1 quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon

8 fluid ounces = 1 pint, in US.
20 fluid oz. = 1 pint, in England

I don't believe there is any direct relation between pints and inches.

Here's a link for more units of Imperial measure, many of which are either rarely used or not used at all anymore:http://home.clara.net/brianp/quickref.html

At any rate, yes, metric is technically "better" I suppose, but most things (commonly used ones) are easy enough to measure in imperial, assuming you know how to cut things in halves or quarters, or multiply by two or four.

And we've got a near monopoly on all the cool names.

 

[Martacus]

Indeed.

When I drive in the US, I always have the feeling to move insanely slowly. First, the speed limits are largely below those in France, but also, as miles are longer the number of remaining miles decrease slower. When there are 300 miles to make, you're already bored when you realize there are still 200 miles to make...

Well, that's usually a non-factor, unless you're driving across Iowa on Interstate 80. If you wish to have a glimpse of what infinity is like, try that out.

 

[Perfection]

1 ounce (rarely used)

Ounces are used quite a bit, often in dietary information or in shipping smaller goods.

 

[Martacus]

Sorry, drams are rarely used, not ounces.

EDIT: There, I changed it.

 

[sysyphus]

Imagine if a scientist was to metricate our time! We would have a day and 10 centidays and 10 millidays, nanodays, kilodays etc etc.

Actually, the official unit of time in metric is the second, so we do have kiloseconds, Megaseconds etc. Now come on, Megaseconds sounds cool!

This is one criticism I will make of the metric system it is far too geekily scientific. I hate all those geeky words!

True, but they do pave way for the use of cool acronyms, like how on those hospital shows people are getting injected with "20ccs of xxxxxxxcane"

And especially the most magic word of all – a pint!

Indeed, I can't imagine myself asking someone if they want to step out for a 1/2 litre.

 

[marshal zhukov]

I don't think it's any question that Metric is superior. But some US Standard units and measurements just sound cooler.

If by "cooler" you mean "horribly complicated", I would agree.

 

[Irish Caesar]

8 fluid ounces = 1 pint, in US.

8 ounces is a cup. A pint is 16 ounces.

 

[Lambert Simnel]

It's not a question of knowing how the units convert. The difficulty is hearing that has a tank with 1000 litres capacity and mentally picture imediatly how much that is, without actually having to make the obvious and easy conversion that 1000 litres are 1000 cubic decimeters, therefor 1 cubic meter. Or to picture how tall someone is when he says he's 1.85 m and how much more that is over someone that's 1.72 m. And so on.

err, can you clarify exactly why you think I can't do this ? Or, the equivalent in imperial ? Manys the time I have wandered over to a pool of something and said - wow, that's 220 gallons. Maybe it's just me, but pointing out that some people might have a problem visualising 1000 litres doesn't seem much of an argument for or against either system. :sigh:

 

[Lambert Simnel]

If by "cooler" you mean "horribly complicated", I would agree.

"Complicated" is just one part of why it's cooler. The wacky names are far cooler too. And I just can't imagine Eminem making a movie called "12.875 kilometre" - and he's way cool too, or at least so I'm told.

I do accept though, that Jules Vernes was a pretty cool dude (at least for a Frenchman ). And also that the English translation of the title of his book as "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is probably an offensive treatment of the original "Cent Onze Mille, Cent Vingt Kilometres Sous La Mer" - much snappier in the original.

 

[Marla_Singer]

@Lambert :

I guess you're sarcastic in your post.

"Complicated" is just one part of why it's cooler. The wacky names are far cooler too. And I just can't imagine Eminem making a movie called "12.875 kilometre" - and he's way cool too, or at least so I'm told.

What about "13 kay" ?

NOTE : In Australia, we say "kay" to talk about kilometers.

I do accept though, that Jules Vernes was a pretty cool dude (at least for a Frenchman ).

How many Frenchmen do you personally know to say they aren't cool ? Don't mix up clichés due to lack of knowledge with reality !

And also that the English translation of the title of his book as "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is probably an offensive treatment of the original "Cent Onze Mille, Cent Vingt Kilometres Sous La Mer" - much snappier in the original.

The French title is "20,000 lieues sous les mers"... He didn't use the metric system. However, if he would have used it, he would have probably said "one hundred thousand"...

Anyway, to follow your logic, what's the point in the US about limiting the speed on roads to 104.61 kph ? That's stupid ! Why not 100 or 105 ?

 

[Lambert Simnel]

What about "13 kay" ?

No. That would be dumb.

How many Frenchmen do you personally know to say they aren't cool ?

Most of the Frenchmen I know are so self-evidently not cool that it would be rude to ask them, just because it would be rubbing it in. I do have a gentle, kind side to me, y'know

The French title is "20,000 lieues sous les mers"... He didn't use the metric system.

Aha!

However, if he would have used it, he would have probably said "one hundred thousand"...

And not "cent mille... " ? Funny fellow.

Anyway, to follow your logic, what's the point in the US about limiting the speed on roads to 104.61 kph ? That's stupid ! Why not 100 or 105 ?

Motorway speed limits are for metric wusses.