At 2/16/2003, 02:51 PM, Bill Potts wrote:
Bill:Dennis Brownridge and I have anticipated that very need, Terry.Just go to http://metric1.org/nonsi.htm. Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator]
As always, there is more to your website than I realized. I've bookmarked this non-metric-unit conversion page for reference, and will be referring my (captive) students to it.
However, I'm puzzled by the widely varying precision in the conversion factors. You say that precision is shown as "appropriate," but I can't see why cubic foot deserves 8 significant digits while gallon gets only 4. Fluid ounce gets 5, cup gets 3 (or 2).
I would suggest two columns: "precise" (with maybe six digits for everything) and "typical" (rounded as appropriate). That way I can have a "cup" as 240 mL for typical use, or 236.59 mL if I want the more precise value.
Actually cup illustrates the problem: there are some listserver members who would suggest it should be rounded to 250 for typical use, not 240, but if only the rounded value is shown, it makes it difficult for the user to round as appropriate to their use.
Jim Elwell, CAMS
Electrical Engineer
Industrial manufacturing manager
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
www.qsicorp.com
