Kilometres and kg

[Blackjack Davy]

So while you're trying to figure out how to measure an infinitely recurring decimal place, I've already finished work and gone for a pint.

Did you mean a 0.568 of a litre? I'm sure you did.

Is a normal clock using metric or Imperial?

Technically imperial, if you count the ancient babylonians as imperials. There was a metric time but it didn't catch on...

 

[Feek]

Is a normal clock using metric or Imperial?

Time is an illusion.

 

[Maccapacca]

Looking at reclaimed floorboards last week to find they are sold in square yards and square meters.

We did a load of cast iron work last year and that’s a funny system. As the iron cools it shrinks so everything has to be oversized, all their measuring tools were scaled up.

 

[Chris Wilson]

Did you mean a 0.568 of a litre? I'm sure you did.

<Chortle>

Technically imperial, if you count the ancient babylonians as imperials. There was a metric time but it didn't catch on...

Good, time waits for no man. Thanks.

 

[Chris Wilson]

Time is an illusion.

Now don't you start about BST again young man! Glad you are feeling better now, all the best!

 

[ttaskmaster]

Did you mean a 0.568 of a litre? I'm sure you did.

Nope.
Sale of draught beer or cider is one of the few cases where the law insists that imperial measures be used.

https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law/specified-quantities

 

[KompuKare]

Looking at reclaimed floorboards last week to find they are sold in square yards and square meters.

We did a load of cast iron work last year and that’s a funny system. As the iron cools it shrinks so everything has to be oversized, all their measuring tools were scaled up.

It's an old sales trick, though isn't it?

If you can convince people to think "a yard is almost a metre", therefore jump to the conclusion that a square yard is almost a square metre. Next try to sell them a cubic yard to which they'll say "that's almost the same as a cubic metre".

0.9144 is less than 10% away from a metre.
0.9144² is 0.8361m²
0.9144³ is 0.7646m³

 

[Hagar]

It's an old sales trick, though isn't it?

If you can convince people to think "a yard is almost a metre", therefore jump to the conclusion that a square yard is almost a square metre. Next try to sell them a cubic yard to which they'll say "that's almost the same as a cubic metre".

0.9144 is less than 10% away from a metre.
0.9144² is 0.8361m²
0.9144³ is 0.7646m³

Estate agents particulars still often specify both. Sometimes I think it is practical to use yards and feet and inches.

I do know that to buy ready mix, it is always cubic metres though as that is what the batches produces. As you say there is almost 30% difference to cubic yards

 

[builder22]

or the hawkers that will quote you a seemingly low amount per sq/ft for doing a driveway etc...final bill is

I know some will have the savvy to work it out but no doubt it works and there's no return once the work is done

 

[Monkeynut]

or the hawkers that will quote you a seemingly low amount per sq/ft for doing a driveway etc...final bill is

I know some will have the savvy to work it out but no doubt it works and there's no return once the work is done

Hawkers who own dags?

 

[Angilion]

It says EC Class I, being ±0.4mm over 3m, with a maximum 0.001% margin of error.

The accuracy of your imperial tape measure is measured in metric units.

[..] But how often is it actually measured to that same degree of accuracy in the real world, rather than just rounding up to a decimal place or two?
In most cases I would assert that a half-millimetre is typical, while the equivalent imperial measuring kit goes a little bit finer than that, hence more exact.

That's a good point. Of course you can buy more accurate measuring equipment if it's necessary for the work being done, but you're right for something like a tape measure or ruler.

 

[GreatAuk]

I'm 5'11" (maybe), and weigh 80kg (maybe)

I walk 5km with the dog, and sometimes cycle 20 miles.

I live a couple of hours from the lake district, and get 50 miles to the gallon on the motorway.

I like a pint, and think about 80 grams of porridge oats makes a good portion of porridge.

And there's nothing you can do to stop me.


I'm not as bad as my dad though, he'll sometimes give you measurements like 'between a centimeter and a quarter of an inch' or 'it's about 2ft wide and the gap's only 70cm so there wasn't much room'.

 

[ttaskmaster]

The accuracy of your imperial tape measure is measured in metric units.

Yup... although 0.4mm is pretty much 1/64th" so the degree of accuracy is still imperial-based!
There are many imperial measures that have had to be given in metric, for reasons of compliance with EU regs. One of the things Brexiteers were crowing about was the ditching of said regs.

 

[Rroff]

Noticed couple of days ago the diversion signs for an emergency road closure on my route to work are in KM not miles :s first time I've ever seen that - though the distances I think correspond to miles rather than KM.

 

[KompuKare]

Every new road sign that goes up should show miles and KM ready for an eventual switch over.

Better (very) late than never. RoI had dual signs for decades before they got rid of the mile ones. Easy to tell: old white signs were in miles with the units not listed, new green signs were in km with the units listed. When speed limits changed to kph, they said they'd have zero tolerance to any speeders who said they though it was in mph.

 

[Angilion]

i drive my wife mad withthings like this. i will say something is a few inches wide and a couple of meters long

I do the same (and did, earlier in this thread). It works just fine for daily life. Having a single set of units matters when accuracy and consistency matters, but for daily life any mashup of any units works just fine as long as enough people have enough familiarity with them.

I'm fine with having metric for anything important where accuracy and consistency matters and leaving imperial in use until it fades out of use in the same way that older units such as rods, chains, ells, cubits, etc, etc did. Use dual labelling to make things easier where appropriate. Forcing the issue is unpleasant behaviour at best.

 

[Luckystrike123]

As an engineer I greatly appreciate the metric system; lb ft inch'2 is a complete nightmare.

Although I do weigh 16 stone and drive 22 miles to work...

 

[Conscript]

1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour. I think it’s the only Imperial unit still in global use.

The intermodal industry measures shipping containers by their length in feet (most commonly 20ft and 40ft), and measures container capacity in "TEU" (twenty-foot equivalent unit). So one 40ft container = 2 TEU. Container ship capacity is often rated in TEU. I think the largest vessels carry something like 21,000 TEU.

Everything else about intermodal containers might be measured in metric (gross weight, tare weight, payload in kg/tonnes, tank container volume in litres, etc). I suppose you could argue that the fabrication of containers will still be done to metric sizes and that referring to them by their Imperial measurements is just an anachronism. Nonetheless, it is a common reference in global use.

 

[Penfold101]

Time is an illusion.

Lunchtime doubly so.

Also, why is no-one using the proper temperature scale? Kelvin all the way…

 

[NickK]

No. They're right and we should all do that. The metric system is a fundamentally superior way of measurement.

https://ukma.org.uk/press/reasons-to-metricate/

Lol UK Gov attempts to force UK to use imperial.. which should make the exporting of goods and components really easy (sarcasm).

I thought the JRM was to remove the duplication.. perhaps JRM will suggest we go fully metric next to remove the complexity having to support both when the majority of our non-EU trading partners are Metric..