"I did mention this on a previous message but I guess it muct have got lost in the problems you've been having."
What was that you were saying earlier about politeness? Dear me! ----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen Humphreys To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2010 10:19 PM Subject: [USMA:47153] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication Mechanics use the 'thou' when doing engine work - for instance repairing cylinder heads after blowing a head gasket. My mini is bored out to 1380cc but the actual work talks about how many thou's are bored out. It's another one of those mixes where both measurement types can get used in the same sentence. Stephen - pick up one of the many car mags and read one of the features on people's cars (I'm talking about mags that centre on one marque - whther it be Golf's, Triumphs etc). I did mention this on a previous message but I guess it muct have got lost in the problems you've been having. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [USMA:47148] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:22:33 +0100 Thanks for that, Steve.....another well informed argument. Probably safe to say that few, if any, mechanics in the UK would use 'thou's'. ----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen Humphreys To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 10:21 PM Subject: [USMA:47142] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication Thanks for that, Stephen, so car engines are commonly quoted in metric (cc), the nuts & bolts are metric (mm) and petrol/diesel is dispensed in metric (l) . Being a car 'nut' and avid fan (I have a collection of 5 very different ones) I now feel like I've learned something new. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [USMA:47140] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:25:28 +0100 Cars All cars in the world (including all those in the USA) have been fully metric since the development of interchangeable parts for the "world car concept" in the early 1970s. Every modern family car has (about) 10 000 separate parts, each of which requires (say) 10 measurements. All cars have been measured some 100 000 times — using metric measures — often to the nearest 100 micrometres (1 micrometre is a millionth of a metre, it is also a thousandth of a millimetre, and is sometimes referred to as a micron, although micrometre is the preferred unit name). Petrol and diesel fuel has been sold in litres for many years, making price comparisons very easy over time, and in comparison with other countries. In October 2004, when petrol cost around 80 pence per litre in the UK, it was costing only 30 pence per litre in the Middle-eastern country of Jordan. Engine sizes have always been measured in cubic centimetres and litres. A typical engine size for a small car would be 1000 cc, which is also 1 litre, for a mid-size car around 1400 cc, which is 1.4 L, and for a larger car it might be 2000 cc, which is 2 litres. This capacity is not the actual size of the engine, but rather it refers to the the displacement or swept volume by the pistons of the engine (the total volume of air/fuel mixture an engine can draw in during one complete engine cycle, as the pistons are moved from top dead centre to bottom dead centre). http://thinkmetric.org.uk/everyday.html Fourth time lucky! Again....endless apologies if other listserver members have has this post trpeated as infinitum!! Regards, Steve. [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen Davis To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 6:58 PM Subject: [USMA:47139] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication The email address to the USMA listserver hasn't been slightly changed, has it? About three or four of my previous posts seem to have disappeared into the ether! ----- Original Message ----- From: Andrew Winn To: U.S. Metric Association Cc: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 9:42 PM Subject: [USMA:47138] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication The reason we have the dollar coin is to replace the dollar bill. They tried with the Sacagawea dollar and now they have the new presidential dollar coins. However, they did not stop printing the dollar bill and the coins have failed to catch on and that's why we have this mess. Also we don't have the dollar coin for those who prefer it. I've never been asked whether I want my change in dollar coins or dollar bills. They just give me dollar bills. It's not really a choice then for those of us who prefer dollar coins. We would have to go to the bank and ask for them specifically or get them directly from the mint. That's why I use dollar bills, but I would prefer the coins. The dollar bill costs less to produce than the dollar coin, but the dollar bill lasts for less than 2 years before it has to be replaced whereas a dollar coin could last for decades. So really in the long run it would be cheaper to produce only dollar coins. And if the government were serious about switching to the one dollar coin it should introduce a two dollar coin like they have in Canada and nearly every other country. And to lighten the load even further, the government should start withdrawing our low value coins like the penny and nickel. - Andrew Winn On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 3:21 PM, John M. Steele <[email protected]> wrote: Respectfully, as a "customer" of the money, I disagree. We have the dollar coin for those who prefer it. However, if one must carry a number of $1 denomination units, coins are over 8X heavier than bills, occupy a slightly larger volume, and are certainly more damaging to the pants pocket. I (strongly) prefer the bill to the coin. However, the dollar coin is not as "hated" as the even worse half-dollar (bigger, heavier, lower value). I get VERY little value out of most of the spending my government wastes money on. Let me enjoy this little one. I predict if we eliminated the $1 bill, the $2 bill would suddenly become popular. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Cc: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, April 15, 2010 12:07:36 PM Subject: [USMA:47132] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication The US coins and the corresponding Canadian coins (through the loonie) are pretty much the same size. The US has no equivalent to the Canadian $2 coin (the 'toonie'). It is an incredible and unfortunate waste that the unnecessary $1 bill is still in production, but the same mentality that hinders metrication also keeps that bill in production. Carleton ----- Original Message ----- From: "John M. Steele" <[email protected]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 6:32:05 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [USMA:47129] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication The dime (10¢ piece) is the smallest US coin. Back when we used real silver, it was the smallest silver coin, the quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins being larger (presumably in proportion to weight?). The penny and nickel (5¢) were always base metals. Now, they all are. The modern dollar coin is considerably smaller than than the silver dollar was, about the size of a quarter, but distinctive color and edging. The link gives info on US coin dimensions and weights. Note the utility of the penny and nickel as cheap small balance weights. http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?flash=yes&action=coin_specifications Fivel nickels and a penny roughly approximate what can be mailed at the 1 oz rate, but won't buy a stamp (44¢). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- . . . . On 2010/04/15, at 02:30 , Tom Wade wrote: Incidentally, which is bigger: the American 5c or 10c :-; ? Tom Wade ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get a new e-mail account with Hotmail – Free. Sign-up now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get a free e-mail account with Hotmail. Sign-up now.
