03-17-2006, 02:48 AM
Hi,
Second, the metric system is severely flawed. It has one good point, that the multiples are all of ten. But the basic units were poorly chosen by a bunch of ivory tower types with no concern for practical utilization. Consider, there are two metric systems in use, the cgs and the mks, and neither uses base units, they need to go to multiples to get something useful. Because of the bad choices in base units, the Pascal (unit of pressure) is so small that an atmosphere is 10^5 Pa. The unit of force (the Newton) is so small that it is unusable, and metric torque wrenches are calibrated in kg-m or some other combination of mass times length, which isn't a torque in the first place. I can give you examples of this nature by the bushel, but these should suffice.
As a scientist, I am comfortable working in any system, or even mixed systems, and exponential notation does not put me off. But, for the average person, the base units of the old English system are much easier -- they reflect the size of things human. Had the academy picked the foot, pound, and second, and applied the powers of ten scaling to it, we would have a much better system than either in common use.
--Pete
eppie,Mar 16 2006, 03:04 AM Wrote:(miles, yards, inches, psi, pounds, stones etc. remain bad choices, I wonder why after Independance day they didn't drop all these englisch units as well?.)First, I believe the USA was the second country to adopt the metric system. All the 'conventional' units are defined in terms of the SI.
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Second, the metric system is severely flawed. It has one good point, that the multiples are all of ten. But the basic units were poorly chosen by a bunch of ivory tower types with no concern for practical utilization. Consider, there are two metric systems in use, the cgs and the mks, and neither uses base units, they need to go to multiples to get something useful. Because of the bad choices in base units, the Pascal (unit of pressure) is so small that an atmosphere is 10^5 Pa. The unit of force (the Newton) is so small that it is unusable, and metric torque wrenches are calibrated in kg-m or some other combination of mass times length, which isn't a torque in the first place. I can give you examples of this nature by the bushel, but these should suffice.
As a scientist, I am comfortable working in any system, or even mixed systems, and exponential notation does not put me off. But, for the average person, the base units of the old English system are much easier -- they reflect the size of things human. Had the academy picked the foot, pound, and second, and applied the powers of ten scaling to it, we would have a much better system than either in common use.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?