The French yard , or better, ell (aune) was about 1.13 m; the Napoleonic aune (used between 1812 and 1840) was 1.20 m exactly. The old French ell had about the length of the English ell, which was 45 inches or about 1.12 m long.
Han ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Nichols" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, 2002-12-08 19:30 Subject: [USMA:23847] Exam and center > Except with the center one runs into the issue of spelling central. > > Here at A&M the big theatre is called the theatre. > > Anyway I gave this exam recently and surprise surprise the students had the > most problems with turning a fraction of a unit into a decimal measure. > > Just out of interest how long was the french yard compared to the metre. > > John Nichols > > At 10:38 PM 07-12-2002, you wrote: > >John Schweisthal wrote: > >Ton is only 909 kg, whereas tonne is 1000 kg. Not the same thing. > > > >No kidding! That was the whole point of my implied advice to Ford -- selling > >the 10% greater capacity -- a point easier to make with "metric ton" than > >with "tonne," which is likely to be regarded as an eccentric spelling, > >rather than a different unit. > > > >As for theatre and centre, they have the same number of letters as theater > >and center, so it's a different issue. > > > >The trouble with tonne is that one is inclined to pronounce it to rhyme with > >don, which is the way it's pronounced in French -- being a French word, > >after all. Remember that we want to get over the strange idea that SI is, > >somehow, a system being imposed by the French. > > > >However, whether tonne or metric ton prevails, the term will eventually > >revert to ton (meaning, by then, 1000 kg). > > > >Bill Potts, CMS > >Roseville, CA > >http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] > > John Nichols BE, Ph.D. (Newcastle), MIE (Aust), Chartered Professional > Engineer > Assistant Professor > Texas A&M University > Department of Construction Science > Langford AC > Rm: A414 MD 3137 > College Station, TX 77843-3137 > > Electronic mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Telephone: 979 845 6541 > Facsimile: 979 862 1572 > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > a fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi > > in front a precipice, behind a wolf > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > >
