+1

Quote from: 007brendan on October 17, 2013, 01:11:21 AM

Quote from: radodrill on October 15, 2013, 08:29:35 PM

Quote from: Zookmang on October 15, 2013, 07:59:50 PM
Like the rest of the educated world. 

Quote from: radodrill on October 15, 2013, 09:44:58 AM

Anyways I thought that GB had converted to the metric system 

Exactly, The British have converter from the unit system they developed; only the US, Burma, Liberia, and a few other enclaves are still using the bass ackwards British Gravitational unit system.

I went to school for engineering, so I totally understand the mathematical simplicity of the metric system.  But no one is ever going to convince me that there are better units than inches and feet for dealing with distances on a day to day basis.  A centimeter is too small, and a meter is too big.

That's why they also have decimeters. 10 times bigger than a centimeter, but 10 times smaller than a meter. Just saying. 

To be honest, I wouldn't mind switching to the metric system. I like the fact that everything is so easy to convert. Instead of 16 ounces per pound, 5280 feet per mile, etc. it's all in powers of ten. Not to be argumentative, but I also wouldn't mind having to say "half a meter" or "50 centimeters" instead of "1 and a half feet". However, it would take quite a bit of effort to convert an entire country to metric. And I don't know if I'd ever feel right talking about a '69 Hemi Cuda with a "7.2 liter Hemi" putting out "280 kW" and "650 Nm".

I guess it goes back to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Quote from: tmbr_wulf on October 17, 2013, 07:54:16 AM
The one thing that I think I would miss about the imperial system is the torque measurement.  I mean, what the F! is a newton-meter?!  For some reason I just like pound-feet/foot-pounds.  I had friends start their college careers in engineering, only to change quickly because their professors made them do their studies in metric, specifically with newton meters as their measure of force.  But at any rate, I'd gladly just take the pains and be slightly confused on some measurements for the rest of my life so that we could switch and be done with it.

While we're at it, what system does a pint fall under?

Haha!  As an engineer, this is hilarious!

Dan

Quote from: tmbr_wulf on October 17, 2013, 07:54:16 AM
While we're at it, what system does a pint fall under?

A pint is Imperial.

And Jas, I still don't understand KW. I learnt power outputs from Gran Turismo so I understand HP better, damn I messed my life up.

I'm in king of the same boat. I know all of the newer cars by their displacement in liters, and the old muscle cars by cubic inches. I also do most of my DIY work in imperial, and all of my other calculations in SI. I'm all kinds of screwed up when it comes to units lol.

 "Then if I'm nearly home I leave it ... "
Got caught like that on my Yamaha SR250 (no trip meter to even warn you) a couple of times. The next time you ride the bike you forget it's on reserve and...you know the rest. I must say though, it always amazed me how far the thing had actually gotten before dying.

Quote from: bryan88 on October 21, 2013, 02:05:11 AM
"Then if I'm nearly home I leave it ... "
Got caught like that on my Yamaha SR250 (no trip meter to even warn you) a couple of times. The next time you ride the bike you forget it's on reserve and...you know the rest. I must say though, it always amazed me how far the thing had actually gotten before dying.

Nup! ... Part of my 30 sec pre ride check even before I start the bike... Wheels = 2 , chain .. yep it's there, lights work?... All of them? .. Yep!, where is fuel tap pointing? , how many Kms on trip meter?.... Ok... Warmup .... Ride.... Either to fuel up or away... But if it's on res already... ALWAYS to fuel up

Quote from: tmbr_wulf on October 17, 2013, 07:54:16 AM
The one thing that I think I would miss about the imperial system is the torque measurement.  I mean, what the F! is a newton-meter?!  For some reason I just like pound-feet/foot-pounds.  I had friends start their college careers in engineering, only to change quickly because their professors made them do their studies in metric, specifically with newton meters as their measure of force.  But at any rate, I'd gladly just take the pains and be slightly confused on some measurements for the rest of my life so that we could switch and be done with it.

While we're at it, what system does a pint fall under?

What's wrong with Nm? Torque is a force that results from or causes angular motion. The unit of force has for centuries been in Newtons. Wikipedia states that 1 Nm is the torque created from exerting 1N of force on something that moves in circular manner from a distance of 1 metre. So if you exert the same force from half the distance I guess it will be 2Nm.

Look up the SI units convention. Generally most countries stick to this for their engineering applications, especially if working with other countries. I think there was a funny story circulating awhile back of a complete c0*k up in using two different conventions. Here it is:

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/11/1110mars-climate-observer-report/

I think the pint falls under the drinking system 

Quote from: JAS6377 on October 17, 2013, 05:24:50 PM

Quote from: 007brendan on October 17, 2013, 01:11:21 AM

Quote from: radodrill on October 15, 2013, 08:29:35 PM

Quote from: Zookmang on October 15, 2013, 07:59:50 PM
Like the rest of the educated world. 

Quote from: radodrill on October 15, 2013, 09:44:58 AM

Anyways I thought that GB had converted to the metric system 

Exactly, The British have converter from the unit system they developed; only the US, Burma, Liberia, and a few other enclaves are still using the bass ackwards British Gravitational unit system.

I went to school for engineering, so I totally understand the mathematical simplicity of the metric system.  But no one is ever going to convince me that there are better units than inches and feet for dealing with distances on a day to day basis.  A centimeter is too small, and a meter is too big.

That's why they also have decimeters. 10 times bigger than a centimeter, but 10 times smaller than a meter. Just saying. 

To be honest, I wouldn't mind switching to the metric system. I like the fact that everything is so easy to convert. Instead of 16 ounces per pound, 5280 feet per mile, etc. it's all in powers of ten. Not to be argumentative, but I also wouldn't mind having to say "half a meter" or "50 centimeters" instead of "1 and a half feet". However, it would take quite a bit of effort to convert an entire country to metric. And I don't know if I'd ever feel right talking about a '69 Hemi Cuda with a "7.2 liter Hemi" putting out "280 kW" and "650 Nm".

I guess it goes back to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

This is true, the confusion a switch would cause is simply not worth it. Books would have to be updated, street signs changed, etc. Not worth the hassle.

Quote from: Zookmang on October 17, 2013, 07:59:51 PM

Quote from: tmbr_wulf on October 17, 2013, 07:54:16 AM
While we're at it, what system does a pint fall under?

A pint is Imperial.

And Jas, I still don't understand KW. I learnt power outputs from Gran Turismo so I understand HP better, damn I messed my life up.

As an electrical engineering student, I would be shot for saying I prefer HP over kW, but it's true...I grew up with HP, although kW is not a problem either. Just remember this simple conversion factor and you'll be right for the rest of your life:

0.75. That's all you need to remember. If you want be more pedantic: 0.7457.

Numerically, kW is LESS than HP. So if you want to convert HP to kW, kW is roughly 75% of HP.
Converting from kW to HP, simply divide kW by 0.75.

So just remember 0.75 [3/4] 

Strictly speaking, kW is the more "correct" unit for today's engineering, you will get all kinds of weird and incorrect results from using HP with existing units. The equations used in power calculations assume you're using the SI unit convention, if not, you'll have to convert everything else to make the results correct.

That being said, I still prefer HP. Has a real manly grunt to it.

Quote from: GS500F2004 on October 22, 2013, 02:22:23 AM
That being said, I still prefer HP. Has a real manly grunt to it.

I thought it had an equine grunt to it   

Quote from: GS500F2004 on October 22, 2013, 02:13:06 AM

What's wrong with Nm? Torque is a force that results from or causes angular motion. The unit of force has for centuries been in Newtons. Wikipedia states that 1 Nm is the torque created from exerting 1N of force on something that moves in circular manner from a distance of 1 metre. So if you exert the same force from half the distance I guess it will be 2Nm.

Look up the SI units convention. Generally most countries stick to this for their engineering applications, especially if working with other countries. I think there was a funny story circulating awhile back of a complete c0*k up in using two different conventions. Here it is:

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/11/1110mars-climate-observer-report/

I think the pint falls under the drinking system 

Nice wikipedia paste.  Yes, it's easy to read about what a newton is, but no one uses newtons as a measurement of force in day to day calculations.  Even people that use the metric system, when talking about the most common force -- weight -- simply use the mass unit (kilograms) instead of the force unit (newtons).  Americans are very familiar with the imperial force unit -- pounds.  I can pick something up and tell you roughly how many pounds it is.  So when talking about pound feet, it's easy to extrapolate -- a pound of force applied 1 foot out from the center of rotation (many wrenches are conveniently about the same size as 1-2 feet).  But how much is a newton?  Even people that use the metric system probably couldn't pick something up and tell you how many newtons it weighs or press on a torque wrench and tell you how many newton meters they are applying.

Quote from: 007brendan on October 22, 2013, 10:51:50 AM
Nice wikipedia paste.  Yes, it's easy to read about what a newton is, but no one uses newtons as a measurement of force in day to day calculations.  Even people that use the metric system, when talking about the most common force -- weight -- simply use the mass unit (kilograms) instead of the force unit (newtons).  Americans are very familiar with the imperial force unit -- pounds.  I can pick something up and tell you roughly how many pounds it is.  So when talking about pound feet, it's easy to extrapolate -- a pound of force applied 1 foot out from the center of rotation (many wrenches are conveniently about the same size as 1-2 feet).  But how much is a newton?  Even people that use the metric system probably couldn't pick something up and tell you how many newtons it weighs or press on a torque wrench and tell you how many newton meters they are applying.

It's easy. The multiplier is 10 here, too (well.. about 9,81 at my altitude, but 10 is good for everyday use).
So if I pick up something that has a mass of 5 kilograms, I may tell you it weighs 50 Newtons.

Quote from: 007brendan on October 22, 2013, 10:51:50 AM

Quote from: GS500F2004 on October 22, 2013, 02:13:06 AM

What's wrong with Nm? Torque is a force that results from or causes angular motion. The unit of force has for centuries been in Newtons. Wikipedia states that 1 Nm is the torque created from exerting 1N of force on something that moves in circular manner from a distance of 1 metre. So if you exert the same force from half the distance I guess it will be 2Nm.

Look up the SI units convention. Generally most countries stick to this for their engineering applications, especially if working with other countries. I think there was a funny story circulating awhile back of a complete c0*k up in using two different conventions. Here it is:

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/11/1110mars-climate-observer-report/

I think the pint falls under the drinking system 

Nice wikipedia paste.  Yes, it's easy to read about what a newton is, but no one uses newtons as a measurement of force in day to day calculations.  Even people that use the metric system, when talking about the most common force -- weight -- simply use the mass unit (kilograms) instead of the force unit (newtons).  Americans are very familiar with the imperial force unit -- pounds.  I can pick something up and tell you roughly how many pounds it is.  So when talking about pound feet, it's easy to extrapolate -- a pound of force applied 1 foot out from the center of rotation (many wrenches are conveniently about the same size as 1-2 feet).  But how much is a newton?  Even people that use the metric system probably couldn't pick something up and tell you how many newtons it weighs or press on a torque wrench and tell you how many newton meters they are applying.

I didn't claim that I made that line up. I in fact said Wikipedia states 

No one uses Newtons as a unit of measurement? You have got to be kidding me. I don't know whether you do engineering or not, but by that kind of statement I would assume you do not. It might be like that in the USA, but the vast majority of the world does NOT use pounds.

People who use the metric system cannot tell you much something weighs in Newtons because it's not a common language term, it's almost invariably used in scientific applications. You are also completely incorrect because Newtons is NOT a unit of MASS. It is a unit of FORCE. So to say something's mass is 10N is as correct as saying something is 18 feet hot. 

I'm sorry to say that most of your opinion here is pretty redundant because you assume all along that everyone else thinks the same way people do in the USA. Most people in the rest of the world don't think in pounds, similarly, Newton-metres is easily grasped by the same token as how you described foot-pounds. When I went to school, learning Physics in year 11/12, we dealt with Newtons and Newton metres. Not foot-pounds.

Car/bike owner's manuals here state torque values in Nm, some may have ft-lbs in brackets. When I bought a torque wrench, the eBay description stated the range in Nm, need I go on?

Correct this strange notion you have of assuming that the rest of the world must naturally be in tune with something because you think it to be so. People cannot tell how much force they are applying in terms of Nm? You are obviously in a different part of the world to understand that. Think about it, if one works with Nm, then your muscle memory adapts to that eventually. This is difficult to understand because?

If I lived in the USA, I would adapt to ft-lbs similarly, you just aren't used to it. Similarly, if people give me speeds in mph, I can roughly understand it, but it doesn't have the same meaning to me. It is the same for gallons, ounces, etc.

..... I still refill my tank a bit after I switch to reserve... Mostly... 

This little thread has made me look into this a bit further. It actually seems like in the past the USA has tried to convert to the metric system but it failed, sometime in the 1970's. Understandably, trying to convert a system is no easy task.

However, one part stood out, which confirms to me, that science for the most part in the USA also sticks to the metric system.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/1999/10/why_hasnt_the_us_gone_metric.html

QuoteToday, agencies with large international or scientific operations--like the Department of Defense and NASA--are almost fully converted

The history of the metric and imperial system is also very interesting, why the change happened and the interesting stories associated with them. I for one was born in a country that quantified speed in km/h but gave distances in miles  -- the effects of transition.

my 08 f runs 430-450kms before i need to switch to reserve and fills up with about 16 liters. this works out to 80-85 mpg imperial. up here in canada we switched to the metric system back in the late 70s while i was still in school. i know metric, imperial and your american system and can do the conversions in my head for the common stuff. if i use a measuring tape when building something i still use feet/inches but for mixing 2 stroke oil i use liters/milliliters.

thats averaging about 4 gallons us per fillup. well a few more litres. my first introduction to the metric system in ontario was in late 90's for some odd reason i couldnt get a moving truck to do 80. i tried lol. between cornwall and alexandria.

well at least you crossed the border, most drive up in the summer and its 70 degrees and the canadian station says its 20, they turn around grumbling its too cold

I thought 500km's was a good time to fill the tank




Just under 4L/100km. By filling the airspace you can get 21.5L into that 20L tank and a genuine 500km range. Hit reserve at 430km.