Paul wrote:
The metric system starts falling apart when you get into Newton's
second law.
F = m x a The metric system had to invent a new unit of force called
the Newton...
ironically. One Newton is = to 4.448221615260 pounds! One kilogram
becomes 9.8
newtons while in the english system a pound is a pound. The concept of
one G is
alien to the metric system. In the English system F = W x G
Thanks Paul, the above warms the hearts (and brains) of the unconverted.
13 years at JPL and I never acquired a feel for a Newton and I don't
think I ever met anyone who had. Given the above inconsistencies I'm not
certain that it's something the human brain can ever develop a real feel
for. Pascals, blah.
Fred O.
They are trying to teach physics in the U.S. schools today using the
metric system. IMHO it is so alien to our everyday lives here in the
U.S. it is no wonder they are not having much success. It must be
different in
Europe as they have some excellent engineers over there. The Wright
brothers on the other hand, being largely self educated, had an
excellent understanding of physics. I am not seeing that in young
people today. Perhaps they are not understanding me because they
attempted to learn the metric system and gave up or perhaps passed
the too easy exams and forgot everything they supposedly learned :)
This electric water pump controversy is a classic example.
Paul Lamar
For shame!!! That kind of conversion error is what doomed the
Mars lander. I also hate the Metric system , but it is not as bad
as you have painted it - it knows that "G" is roughly 9.8 meters /sec/sec
just like 32.2 ft per sec per sec - F still equals MA where f is in Newtons
mass in Kilograms and A is meter /ses/sec etc - just as in the English
system where F is pounds force Mass in Slugs and A ft/sec/sec
or if that is not complicated enough you can use poundals.
Truely ironic while your 4.4 lbs is off the wall, a Newton
turns out to be a force very near that of an apple on the table,
or about 0.225lbf
The Pascal is really a bad unit - being hopelessly small ie one Newton
per square meter - the reverse of a Farad which is hopelessly large.
Vance
Off the wall? Hardly.
Ops I got the conversion backwards. One pound is 4.448221615260 newtons.
A typo. Sorry.
Gee Vance I was counting on you for help. Aren't you the guy that said "we got
to the moon on inches" :) What is wrong with psi and cps?
Paul Lamar
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