I don't know who Lulu is, but in her defense, her calorie is closer to a calorie than many calories are. 4 lb of water is 1.81436948 kg, and 1 °F is 5/9 °C, thus her "definition" is 1.008 nutritional (or kilo) calories. Of course, calories are a lousy unit because water is a terrible standard and the real energy of a calorie depends on the initial and final temperature of the water. Nonetheless, her calorie is closer to the classic definition than the dispersion between IT, th, mean, 4 °C, 15 °C, and 20 °C calories. Her definition is frankly not a bad way to explain a calorie to someone who is not metric-literate, as it is better than 1%, good enough for rough conversion. As for the rest, these are mostly different names for the same thing. What does throwing out all these names show? Imperial/Customary has some deficiencies as a "system," no one challenges that, but they are two variants of the same thing. Many units are aligned, distance, temperature, area, volume when expressed in length units, mass if you stick with pounds and smaller. All units related to the gallon and bushel are different, and there are those stones, which screw up hundredweights and tons. The other big problem is f != ma, A constant is needed as a pound-force accelerates a pound-mass at about 32.17 ft/s², standard earth gravity. To solve this, one either has to (1) invent a funny mass unit, the slug, (2) invent a funny force unit, the poundal, or (3) express acceleration in units of g-subzero. Once one of these approaches is adopted, it is apparently possible to perform engineering calculations (I must admit I prefer metric). Imperial/Customary is overly complex and inferior to the SI. But attaching 50 different names to it exxagerates its deficiencies, rings hollow, and weakens the argument (in my view) --- On Fri, 7/17/09, Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:45423] Names of old measuring methods To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 7:23 PM Dear All, It is often said that there is a conflict between the metric system and an old 'system' of measures in the USA. I think that this statement leads to a false concept that there are two 'systems'. Going through old emails, it seems to me that as the UK and the USA are currently facing the issue of upgrading to the International System of units (SI), they are also facing the replacement of all of the old measuring methods currently in use in the UK and the USA. Here are some names of old methods that are currently in use in the UK and the USA as methods for measuring: * British measures * cgs units * Customary measures * English measures * Fred Flintstone measures * fps (foot-pound-second) 'system' units * fss (soot-slug-second) 'system' units * ifp (inch-foot-pound) * inch/ounce measures * Imperial measures * inch-pound measures * inch-pound-pint measures * Lulu Hunt-Peters' personal calorie (food to heat 4 pounds of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit) * mks units * USA Customary measures * USC measures * Wombat measures There is obvious duplication in this list and I am sure that this is not a complete list. Please let me know of any others that you have seen. I am also sure that the view that the idea that there is a conflict between two 'systems', metric and other, is profoundly false. Note that I put the word 'system' inside parenthesis when I know that the word, 'system', is used but no 'system' actually exists – or ever did exist. I added Lulu Hunt Peters' personal definition of a calorie as an example because many scientists and engineers still believe that the making-up of new units and new unit names is an appropriate activity. Cheers, Pat Naughtin Author of the forthcoming book, Metrication Leaders Guide. PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com for more metrication information, contact Pat at [email protected] or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe.
