[USMA:35709] Re: decimal time

[Pat Naughtin]

Title: Re: [USMA:35684] Re: decimal time

Dear Jon,

You make an interesting point when you say:

On 16/01/06 11:48 AM, "Jon Saxton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> If we were invent a new
> "decimal" second such that there are 100 000 or 240 000 seconds in a day
> then would Mars colonists be justified inventing their own slightly
> longer version to accommodate Mars's longer day?  Would we have
> different "local" seconds on Earth, Mars and Titan?

This was one of the thoughts behind the original developers of the metric system seeking ‘natural’ standards for the metric system. They wanted the metric system to be international and separated from politics so that the English measures would be the same as the French measures and: ‘For all people — for all time’.

They were well aware that if the standards were not ‘natural’ then they could be influence by political whimsy as they had been in the past when, for example, you got a new king with a longer or shorter foot.

Since 1793, with the decision to base the length of the metre on a quadrant of the Earth, this effectively removed national governments from metrology processes especially the setting of standards. Even the governments of the UK and the USA recognise this by having their traditional names for old measures actually defined in terms of the ‘natural’ units of the metric system. They both use metric inches (exactly 25.4 mm), metric feet (exactly 304.8 mm), and metric yards (exactly 9.144 metres).

Each day the English drive miles defined in metres and drink pints of beer defined in millilitres, while in the USA, people watch football where the main scoring is done over an exact distance of exactly 9.144 metres.

It’s called ‘hidden metric’.

Cheers,

Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216
Geelong, Australia
61 3 5241 2008
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.metricationmatters.com

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