Re: We Went to the Moon on Feet and Inches

From: Peter Stickney (peter_at_adelphia.net)
Date: 10/10/04 

Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 00:05:21 -0400

In article <792abaf9.0410081406.2bc23195@posting.google.com>,
        dbohara@mindspring.com (Parallax) writes:
> "John Wil***" <john-nospam@news.tradoc.net> wrote in message news:<3mfcm0hb91ii4tj7mngvkti48ebko63uli@tradoc.fr>...
>> On Fri, 8 Oct 2004 04:55:17 +0200 (CEST), Anonymous via the Cypherpunks
>> Tonga Remailer wrote:
>> > Now lay out a bunch of those French metrics. You will note that the series
>> > runs 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,
>> > 24, and 25mm!!!! Each size is separated by only 1/25th of an inch, too
>> > small to be positively labeled by inspection. This means not only does the
>> > spaceman have to carry a box of tools which weights three times a much, but
>> > he is doomed to spend three times longer on his spacewalks doing the trial
>> > and error thing getting a wrench to fit a bolt.
>>
>> Not at all. While all the sizes exist, not all are in common use.
>> The typical series used here on earth runs 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, ...
>> I imagine the same applies in space.

> If one always works in MKS units, life becomes very easy when doing
> any sort of calculation because you do not have to worry that units in
> one equation are inconsistent with those of another. I mean, wtf is a
> BTU equivalent to? Just use Joules and life is easy. And hp for
> power? Huh? What is that in real units like watts? In MKS units, I
> can do most calculations in my head just by remembering a few basic
> units like 1 amp is 1.6E19 charges/sec. Try doing any calculations in
> your head using english system, no way.

You make it sound like there's a problem. It's no different than any
other units conversion, even withing SI (Especially since Gravity as
the Earth's Surface stubbornly refuses to be 10 m/s^2,)

1 BTU = 1054 Jouses. = 1000 will do for back of the envelope stuff.
1 hp = ~750 KW. It's nto difficult. The real problem comes when
you're dealing with oddballs like hte Pferdestarke - the German
"metricated" horsepower, which equals 0.986 HP. 

-- 
Pete Stickney
 A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
 bad measures.  -- Daniel Webster