Decimal Time

A large number of physical units are based on the second, especially in electrical engineering. Watts and Coulombs come to mind immediately, how about frequency and inductors/capacitors. it would screw up everything.

In Physics, how about acceleration?

In mechanics, how about RPM?

Jon

Yep, that's what happens when a unit is changed. Same with converting from English units to metric, many constants change.

So that's where that term comes from! I've heard it in American movies / TV and read it in books but couldn't work out how a bottle that wasn't much more than a pint (~600ml) got the name 'a fifth'. I forgot about the Merkin gallon being less than a real gallon. In fact it's almost exactly 'a fifth' short!

Nah that is what the rest of the world called a 26oz bottle before metric. Of course in the US that would be closer to 25 fluid ounces. US water must be heavier.

A pint's a pound the world around!

"English Units"?

Like an American gallon?

"Voluntary conversion" is doomed to failure due to inertia so it's a failure of the legislators not the public. It should have been made compulsory as it was in most other countries which changed over.

Ok second guy in this thread to use the term "English units". Am I to assume it's an Americanism then? In England, Australia and New Zealand (the countries I've lived in) non-metric units are reffered to as "imperial".

-- Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy little classification in the DSM*." David Melville (in r.a.s.f1) (*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

The top-posting should have given you the clue you needed there....

No, jews are good at finance because the catholic church banned christians from usury - lending money and charging interest. As money became more and more important it became necessary for there to be financiers but christians weren't going to risk lending their money free of charge. So jews were invited into most catholic / christian countries to be the financiers as they had no such rule in *their* holy book. Without jews stepping in to finance large projects we'd still be in the dark ages.

Yet how do we thank them? By making thinly-veiled anti-semetic jokes in electronics repair groups (and probably other places as well).

ly

Further to this, Circadian Rhythm is very approximate, that is, it adjusts with the seasons, day/night length, temperature, in some cases the phases o f the moon, and more. Try setting train schedules from a process that may a lter by tens of minutes on any given day.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

adjusts with the seasons, day/night length, temperature, in some cases the phases of the moon, and more. Try setting train schedules from a process that may alter by tens of minutes on any given day.

You could have pointed out that is what the "circa" means!

Mike.

The legislators were true to the American ideal of liberty. This was a failure that ideal, not of the legislature. All ideals fail at the edges; that's why we call them ideals.

Imperial units are not quite the same. An imperial gallon is larger than the gallon used in the US. I don't know if there are other differences, I'm pretty sure the inch, foot and yard are the same. I'm not sure if a fortnight is the same on both sides of the Atlantic... ;)

We use the term "English units" because like many of our customs, laws and general ways of life, they came to us by way of England.

This country can be pretty idiotic about "compulsory" issues. The federal government has a regulation that children must wear life vests in federally controlled waters. The State of Virginia has a similar law, but it only applies to the waterways that are regulated by the Coast Guard (federal laws). So the law is no additional regulation, it simply allows the state authorities to enforce it. Meanwhile it is perfectly legal in the state controlled waters to not put a life vest on your children. Allegedly this is because the legislators get tremendous push back when they pass laws that add new regulations.

How fooking stupid is that?! *Everyone* should have to wear a life vest any time they are in a boat underway. Just this past July 4th weekend someone died when he fell overboard while not wearing a life vest. They do nothing for you if you don't wear them. Cutting a tree down with your six year old next to you would be considered child endangerment even though there is no specific law against it. By the same reasoning allowing children to ride in a boat without a life vest should be child endangerment regardless of the law. But we legislate according to the push back from fears of "over regulation".

I can see laws like the life vest for children and seat belts or safety seats for children.

What I would really like is for the insurance companies to get togetner with the law makers and not pay off to the people over 21 that do not follow those laws. I do not care if some one of reasonable age falls off the boat without the life vest and drowns. Just don't expect his life insurance to pay off. Or is someone gets hurt in a car crash without the seat belt, just do not pay off for medical bills or to get his car repaired.

In the rest of the world is 4.54 litres. Only in the US is 'gallon' different (approximately 3.75 litres?).

Likewise in Australia and New Zealand we owe a lot of our heritage to England - however we don't call the units "English". It just seemed odd to me

Very fooking stupid. ;) Are seat belts compulsory yet? It seems an odd mix.

Of course seat belts are compulsory. Where do you live that they aren't?

Really? If that is the oddest thing you find about the US then I am very happy.

I've explained how some of our units are *not* Imperial. What would you have us call them?