The weather report predicts there will be a west wind with velocity of
28 km/h. I am going to ride my bicycle about 18 km towards the west
today. I cannot visualize 28 km/h, but I can visualize 7.8 m/s. This
means to me that I will get a better workout, going to my destination,
and should have an easier ride home. Would somebody please explain the
logic of measuring velocity in km/h? I do not understand why this is
done. I live in Southern California, and traffic is unpredictable
here. When I drive, I am only concerned with safety, and leave
additional time to get to my destination. If were are going to convert
to the metric system in the United States, why not consider using m/s
as the basic unit? I am usually only concerned with my velocity when
the traffic light turns yellow in front of me, and I have to make a
decision whether to decelerate or continue driving. If my velocity is
measured in m/s, that would make calculations simpler. In Europe, with
its denser populations, does measuring velocity in km/h work well in
calculations? I wager that highways are engineered using m/s
calculations.
Is it possible to get a velocimeter for a bicycle that measures in m/s?
