I tried to post this yesterday, but I don't think it went through. If a
repeat, I apologize.
"The Martian" is a popular book available possibly only on Kindle, about
an astronaut who is abandoned on Mars and tries to stay alive until a
rescue mission can reach him. The author is no Hemingway, but the book
is somewhat gripping. The metric angle is that there are pages and
pages devoted to detailed discussions of distances, quantities of water
and fuel, areas of solar panels and indoor crop growing, weights, sizes
of pieces of equipment, energy requirements, and so forth--and it is ALL
in SI. Only complaint is the term "kph" used.
It is staggering to think how complicated the book's discussion of these
items would be in "customary". Supposedly all the math was carefully
researched and is accurate.
See
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304428004579351000913706472
HARRY WYETH
