> With other metric measurements, they have introduced hard to pronounce > and spell wog names which I simply can't be bothered with such as Pascal > as in kPa. And why should we be bothered with that kind of thing? They > could have picked easy to remember or self explanatory names (like > centigrade) but they chose to immortalize long dead people.
"Pascal" doesn't sound odd to me in English; there is a word "pascal" which means pertaining to Easter or Passover or a kind of celery. "Ampère" does sound odd in English (probably because I gargle the r). I think more unit names sound odd in French (newton, gray, henry) than in English. > Then, still fiddling, they have changed the unit of measurement for > torque and others to suit engineers but which are unintelligible to the > reasonable man. They are more suited to engineering than everyday use. AFAIR torque has always been measured in newton meters. And I don't think torque comes up in everyday use, except for mechanics who use torque wrenches. > And even though we have gone metric here in Oz we still stay 20', 40', > 48' and 53' for shipping container lengths, and still measure truck > engine outputs in horsepower and lb ft of torque, and US thread, bolt, > and nut sizes are still in wide use. And my new rainwater tanks are in > gallons (with litres in the fine print). Got a long tape? Check if the 53 is really 16 meters. phma
