Dear All,
From time to time I rail against the failure of the metric system to
penetrate in the textile industry. Here is a sample (written on
2010-06-06) that must cost an absolute fortune in misunderstandings
and conversions time for international trade:
The standard measure of bulk linen yarn is the lea. This is a specific
length, or indirect grist system, i. e. the number of length units per
unit mass. A yarn having a size of 1 lea will give 300 yards per
pound. The fine yarns used in handkerchiefs, etc. might be 40 lea, and
give 40×300 = 12,000 yards per pound. The symbol is NeL. More commonly
used in continental Europe is the Metric system, Nm. This is the
number of 1,000 m lengths per kilogram. In China, the English Cotton
system unit, NeC, is common. This is the number of 840 yard lengths in
a pound.
Otherwise they would have to use something really simple and
immediately understandable in every company and every business in the
world, like kilometres per kilogram!
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, that you can obtain
from http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html
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
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