Question on the metric system

carlowplayer · 13-03-2015 5:42am #1

Which countries use metric and which ones imperial?
Would it be expensive to switch all imperial countries to metric?

L1011 · 13-03-2015 9:05am

Everywhere bar the USA, Burma and Liberia legally uses metric. Some, like the UK, don't do it very well.

It is both expensive and complicated to change over, although the biggest hurdle is ridiculous conservatives usually

Mint Sauce · 13-03-2015 9:12am

They call it a Royal with Cheese.

lottpaul · 13-03-2015 9:14am

From a quick google the only ones still using the Imperial system are the USA, Liberia and Myanmar. There are a few like the UK that are officially metric but still legally use a lot of Imperial measurements (miles being the most obvious) and then there are countries like ourselves where everything is officially metric but many "older" people use varying levels of Imperial units, but as generations progress that will fade away I suppose.

As for cost of change? I'd imagine the USA would be astronomical but I don't thing it's even being considered.

L1011 · 13-03-2015 9:19am

lottpaul wrote: »

As for cost of change? I'd imagine the USA would be astronomical but I don't thing it's even being considered.

It was: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/laws/metric-conv.html

Its unlikely to ever happen now - computerisation has ensured that conversions can be made quickly and accurately / error-checked and most modern industrial activities use metric anyway; so its really just the public facing stuff that's stuck on their antique units.

[Deleted User] · 13-03-2015 9:29am

L1011 wrote: »

It was: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/laws/metric-conv.html

Its unlikely to ever happen now - computerisation has ensured that conversions can be made quickly and accurately / error-checked and most modern industrial activities use metric anyway; so its really just the public facing stuff that's stuck on their antique units.

Public facing stuff and satellites http://www.wired.com/2010/11/1110mars-climate-observer-report/

Also there is a difference between some US imperial units and their British counterparts.

lottpaul · 13-03-2015 9:34am

L1011 wrote: »

It was: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/laws/metric-conv.html

Its unlikely to ever happen now - computerisation has ensured that conversions can be made quickly and accurately / error-checked and most modern industrial activities use metric anyway; so its really just the public facing stuff that's stuck on their antique units.

That's very interesting. Thanks for the link. Not often you see President Ford mentioned for signing innovative laws

bk · 13-03-2015 10:29am

Interestingly the US military uses the metric system!

In US war movies you will often hearing things like "we are 10 klicks south of your position", a "klick" is one kilometer.

Sam Russell · 13-03-2015 10:32am

There is a lot of confusion between what is metric and what is imperial.

1. Paper - A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 are all metric and are used throughout Europe, but USA use imperial sizes - letter, legal (foolscap) etc.

2. Plumbing. Ireland uses Imperial pipe sizes (1/2 inch) while UK uses 15mm. Universally BSP (British Standard Pipe) is used for the likes of threads on taps etc. So if you buy plumbing bits from the UK, they will not fit Irish pipes - not because the UK uses imperial but because we do.

3. Distance - UK still uses miles as does the USA, but Canada Australia, etc use Km.

4. Volume - most use Litres (liters in USA) for petrol but USA use US gallons. They also have 16 oz pints where our pints are 20 oz. What are barrels used to measure oil?

5. Area - metric area measure is the hectare which is about 2.5 acres. It is meant to be used here together with the square metre, but most use the imperial units. I think that legally, property is supposed to be metric but in practice it is not.

Various industries have gone metric worldwide. Electronics is metric (except for the use of 0.1 inch spacings that exist nearly everywhere. Motor industry is largely metric, but some US companies are still imperial.

Tyres are quaint. The size of a typical tyre - say 185/70 16 tyre size is 185 mm wide with a 70% profile ratio to fit on a 16 inch wheel. Now you cannot get more mixed up than that.

It is a mess worldwide. Did the US not lose a Mars mission because of a mix-up between contractors - some using metric and others using imperial?

We still use a typewriter keyboard designed to slow the typist down because the mechanism could not keep up. We still use Etruscan periods for time. (60 second, 60 minutes, etc.)

There will be use of imperial mixed with metric for generations.

Anyone going for a pint?

LeinsterDub · 13-03-2015 11:15am

Metric system is the tool of the devil! My car gets forty rods to the hogs-head and that’s the way I likes it!

Brian CivilEng · 13-03-2015 11:30am

We drink beer in pints in the pub but 500ml at home. Weird.

I find that a lot of people use imperial conversationally but don't actually know how big the measurement is. 40 years of metric being taught in schools means that most of the population had no grounding in what imperial measurements actually mean.

I wish we would just go that extra kilometer and use metric for everything, including colloquialisms

munchkin_utd · 13-03-2015 12:31pm

abitofacomedian wrote: »

<snip>
I wish we would just go that extra kilometer and use metric for everything, including colloquialisms

strangely.... in Germany which is all very scientific and proper and metric, theres turns of phrase which still mention the likes of miles or pounds (weight).

its hard to get rid of imperial completely it seems, even when its never used to measure anything!

Peregrine · 13-03-2015 12:35pm

There is almost an irrational fear of the metric system among some Americans. I don't know if they'll ever switch over. The UK might eventually be fully metric.

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Metric system is the tool of the devil! My car gets forty rods to the hogs-head and that’s the way I likes it!

Who keeps the metric system down? We do, we doo!

Sam Russell · 13-03-2015 1:34pm

The first question on the Voxpop when metrication is mntioned is 'How many xxx to the yyy are there?' This is a nonsense question because once changeover has occured, it does not matter.

When is the last time you heard - 'How many Irish Pounds is that?' The normal question you get now at the butchers is 'How much is that in money?' when someone is buying meat.

I still do not know how many litres there are in a barrel (used for measuring oil prices) or how much an ounce of gold is - is it avois du pois or Troy by the way? Or is it so many penny-weights? Or carats, or grains? Or grammes, or even grams?

How confusing.

Carawaystick · 13-03-2015 4:29pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

I still do not know how much an ounce of gold is - is it avois du pois or Troy by the way?

apparently a pound of gold weighs different to a pound of feathers for that reason....

French property uses ares ( one hundredth of a hectare) to size them.

when the lpt came in here, only the first acre or so was counted for your valuation, which seemed odd, to use an imperial measurement.

Geuze · 13-03-2015 4:54pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

T

I still do not know how many litres there are in a barrel (used for measuring oil prices)

42 US gallons, or about 159 litres in a barrel.

biko · 13-03-2015 4:58pm

Most countries use metric even though some old ways still linger.

Miles per gallon, 6 feet tall, weighs 10 stone etc..

Markcheese · 13-03-2015 5:10pm

Mint Sauce wrote: »

They call it a Royal with Cheese.

What do they call a big king ?

murphaph · 13-03-2015 5:15pm

L1011 wrote: »

It was: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/laws/metric-conv.html

Its unlikely to ever happen now - computerisation has ensured that conversions can be made quickly and accurately / error-checked and most modern industrial activities use metric anyway; so its really just the public facing stuff that's stuck on their antique units.

I'd say it's much more ingrained than that in the US-it's not like the UK where "behind the scenes" it really is all metric, even their roads of course are designed in metric, but in the US the drawings for those roads, bridges, buildings etc. really are all in imperial. It actually affects Canada too...when Canada went metric they soon realised that it wasn't too great in the building industry, where nearly everything comes from south of the border. I think they more or less gave up on metric in the building sector in Canada to avoid the headaches.

American made machinery will generally be imperial, except for the sub assemblies that may come from elsewhere (I've seen and worked on such equipment...silly stuff really)

I never did get my head around quickly visualising how big a 7/32" Allen key actually is!

Sam Russell · 13-03-2015 5:49pm

Carawaystick wrote: »

when the lpt came in here, only the first acre or so was counted for your valuation, which seemed odd, to use an imperial measurement.

That relates to capital gains tax. If you value your 'bog standard house' standing on 3 acres at €2 million, and sell it for €5 million, then you will be liable for capital gains tax on the €3 million, as any principal private residence is exempt only up to the first acre.

That would soften your cough if you lived in a bog standard house.

AugustusMinimus · 14-03-2015 2:15am

Interesting fact.

NASA uses the metric system for all aeronautical and guidance data.

However, the Space Shuttle was designed using US customary units and believe it or not, all of the new launch architecture being designed at the moment is being done using US customary units. The cost of converting design software etc is put at 300m dollars and so to save money, they haven't changed.

icdg · 14-03-2015 10:24am

Remember the U.S. system is not the imperial system. The units are named similarly but the measures are different (a pint for example is a lot smaller than 568ml, unless its Guinness you're ordering for some reason).

Nor are we 100% metric here either. The pint is the obvious one, but as someone mentioned earlier fast food chains like McDonald's and Subway cling to their Quarter Pounders and foot longs rather than rename them as Royals with Cheese and, er, whatever subway do. The rail network still uses mileposts. We still have plenty of imperial low bridge signs (the metric only one having only been provided for in 2010).

mikemac1 · 14-03-2015 10:33am

I've never seen a TV advertised by anything other then inches

Some tile shops sell by the square yard and some by the square metre. The shop assistant will work it out for you if ask

Your sausages are sold in Spar, Centra, wherever are sold in lbs and half lbs but I don't think they show this. It's 454g and 227g on the label. Works just fine

Do US athletes train for the 100 metres in college or are they running 100 yds

American footballers all test themselves for 40 yds, they don't test at metres

Sam Russell · 14-03-2015 10:54am

I think butter must be sold here in pounds. It is to stop retailers reducing pack size but keeping the price the same. [This is quite common with bars of chocolate].

Aard · 14-03-2015 11:34am

Whatever about regular joes using square foot / acre etc, I wish journalists would stick to metric. As said before, all property and planning permissions need to be in metric. Then you have the Irish Times flitting between metric and imperial in the one article, making the reader convert in his head. Land prices are usually quoted in €/acre while rents will be in €/sqm. Just stick with metric - it's so much easier to scale up or down.

hardCopy · 14-03-2015 12:30pm

Aard wrote: »

Whatever about regular joes using square foot / acre etc, I wish journalists would stick to metric. As said before, all property and planning permissions need to be in metric. Then you have the Irish Times flitting between metric and imperial in the one article, making the reader convert in his head. Land prices are usually quoted in €/acre while rents will be in €/sqm. Just stick with metric - it's so much easier to scale up or down.

The decimal acre is quite a popular one daft

"Beautifully appointed family home on 1.16 acres"

Sam Russell · 14-03-2015 1:03pm

The Americans do not use stones (14 lbs) but they use bushels, barrels, long tons, short tons and quite a few more quaint ones - not to mention degrees Fahrenheit.

We used to have Irish miles and Irish acres, which were much bigger than their imperial equivalent. Many a cow was fed on the long acre.

Aard · 14-03-2015 1:05pm

hardCopy wrote: »

The decimal acre is quite a popular one daft

"Beautifully appointed family home on 1.16 acres"

Even more so when it's clearly "meant" to be quoted in hectares: 0.247 acre site

D.L.R. · 14-03-2015 7:29pm

Remember when our route confirmation signs were in km, but our speed limits were still in miles

Sheldons Brain · 14-03-2015 7:34pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

I think butter must be sold here in pounds. It is to stop retailers reducing pack size but keeping the price the same. [This is quite common with bars of chocolate].

Butter is sold in "pounds" while in NI it is 500g, while cheese is the opposite. This nonsense dates back to the butter smuggling of the 1980s.

Sam Russell · 14-03-2015 9:07pm

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

Butter is sold in "pounds" while in NI it is 500g, while cheese is the opposite. This nonsense dates back to the butter smuggling of the 1980s 1930-1950s.

FYP

I think it was more to do with short measure.

Question on the metric system

Comments