I vividly remember the first physics test that I had at University (in 1965). The problem that caused most difficulty was a question that required the use of Bernoulli’s principal. For the benefit of those who have not heard of this principal, the equation describing the steady flow of an incompressible fluid through a pipe of varying thickness and height is given by
V^2/2 + gz + p/rho = constant Q = V/(pi*r^2) Where V is fluid velocity G is acceleration due to gravity Z is pipe elevation P is pressure Rho is fluid density Q is volumetric flow rate R is pipe radius Pi is 3.14… In imperial units, pipe diameters (and hence radii) are usually specified in inches, pressure in psi and everything else in FPS units. Martin From: USMA [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Nichols Sent: 10 May 2020 21:46 To: [email protected] Subject: [USMA 1364] Teaching students It is very easy to demonstrate to a class of Freshman the stupidity of the Imperial System used in the USA. 1. Teach then about a cigarette – a legal length in Texas 2. Tell them about stones once in class and the use it in the exam 3. Use barley corns 4. A llath is a great UK unit – it is legal in the UK so I tell me students it is acceptable here 5. Do all board work in feet and change to inches in the exam -- Then set a math problem – A building weighs 4000000 stone, what is the ground pressure if the building is 2/3 of a cigarette by 200 llaths in kg/ squared bc. Who said you cannot fix stupid. John Nichols
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