John W. Kennedy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> skrev den Thu, 05 May 2005 20:40:58 -0400:
Randomthots wrote:
The metric system is very logical. I like it a lot. But if you live in the States then the reality is that most of the measurements you see and live with are in the Imperial scale, like it or not.
No, the US system. Imperial measures were /never/ used in the United States.
Yeah, you are right. I think I read somewhere, about 22 years ago (or more), that a british inch=25.40001 mm and a US inch=25.39999 mm. Or was it vice versa? I am not sure, this long time later. I don't even remember where I read it...
It used to be that the US inch was exactly 1/39.97 meter (approximately 2.54000508cm) and the Imperial inch was approximately 2.53999cm. There was also a slight difference between the US and Imperial pounds. The two inches and the two pounds were brought together in 1959, but /all/ volume measurements remain substantially different, and not in a uniform or easily systematized manner. For example, an Imperial fluid ounce is approximately 0.9608 US fluid ounce, but an Imperial pint is approximately 1.2009 US liquid pint, or approximately 1.0321 US dry pint.
Also, an Imperial ton is 2240 pounds, but a US ton is 2000 pounds. (Except that a US "long ton" is an Imperial ton.)
A further confusion is caused by the fact that US surveyors refused to change their inch in 1959, so a US surveyor's mile is about an eighth of an inch longer than a US statute mile.
--
John W. Kennedy
"Only an idiot fights a war on two fronts. Only the heir to the throne of the kingdom of idiots would fight a war on twelve fronts"
-- J. Michael Straczynski. "Babylon 5", "Ceremonies of Light and Dark"
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