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Besoeker
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26-09-2018, 11:48 AM
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Measurement units

I'm an engineer by profession so units of measure are important for what I do and did. But they are important for all of us. We, UK, have gone from Imperial through various stages to SI units. I guess it's what most think of as metric. But is actually SI, Système Internationale

It is international apart from USA and Myanmar.In engineering, it simplifies calculations. In everyday life, it is a level playing field for international trade, to share recipes, weights, areas of land......the list goes on.

We, in Britain, hang on to our Imperial units. If I buy beer in a pub it is served by the pint - thank you CAMRA - whilst wine is served by the ml. Vehicle fuel is dispensed and charged for by the litre but fuel consumption is in miles per gallon.

I suppose we'll muddle on. Are stones used a a measure of weight anywhere else in the world?
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26-09-2018, 12:51 PM
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Re: Measurement units

Rees Mogg will have us going back to Imperial Units.
Slugs and Poundals are so much easier than Kilograms Force and Newtons.
Avoirdupois for ever!
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26-09-2018, 01:10 PM
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Re: Measurement units

Originally Posted by Purwell ->
Rees Mogg will have us going back to Imperial Units.
Slugs and Poundals are so much easier than Kilograms Force and Newtons.
Avoirdupois for ever!
Thank God for that. Get away from all this Eurocr@p.
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26-09-2018, 01:37 PM
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Re: Measurement units

Originally Posted by Purwell ->
Rees Mogg will have us going back to Imperial Units.
I'd have to give a severe rap over the knuckles with my cane.....or a swift kick in the goolies with my number 42 steel capped boots.
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26-09-2018, 01:38 PM
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Re: Measurement units

I'll have two pound of apples and a 60 watt bulb please.
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26-09-2018, 02:55 PM
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Re: Measurement units

Originally Posted by Longdogs ->
I'll have two pound of apples and a 60 watt bulb please.
The watt is an SI unit.
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26-09-2018, 03:01 PM
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Re: Measurement units

Half way through my bricklaying apprenticeship we moved from imperial to metric, and up until I retired we still used a mixture of both, so when I ordered for example timber joists it may have been 20no. 4.2m lengths of 8" x 2" yet fortunately no-one at the timberyard was ever confused...

ETA. Even now frame catalogues sell standard doors in, say, 2'6" x 6'6" x 40mm so not just me.....
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26-09-2018, 04:37 PM
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Re: Measurement units

At the end of the day, it's what you're familiar and at ease with.

For linear measurements, for example, I find it easier to visualise feet, inches, yards and miles. However, when I need to be precise for short measurements, I use mm.

I weigh myself in stones and pounds, and a bag of loose sweets will be requested as "a quarter of".

For other things, I end up using both/either Imperial or Decimal units according to the situation.
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26-09-2018, 04:53 PM
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Re: Measurement units

Originally Posted by JBR ->
At the end of the day, it's what you're familiar and at ease with.

For linear measurements, for example, I find it easier to visualise feet, inches, yards and miles. However, when I need to be precise for short measurements, I use mm.

I weigh myself in stones and pounds, and a bag of loose sweets will be requested as "a quarter of".

For other things, I end up using both/either Imperial or Decimal units according to the situation.
Imperial can be expressed as decimal. Like 4.5 inches. It isn't an either or. But that's not really the point.

SI is, as the name suggests, is international. And there are some units where there is no Imperial equivalent. Like amps, volts, watts etc. Try asking for a 0.08 horsepower bulb instead of 60W. But they are equivalent measures of power.
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26-09-2018, 07:54 PM
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Re: Measurement units

Originally Posted by Besoeker ->
The watt is an SI unit.
Well that's good to know. I don't need to worry about shitty lumens.
 
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