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Re: Metric Time (was Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique))
I Weld 4U (iweld4u@aol.com)
8 Oct 1995 15:24:22 -0400
I like root foot-poundforce. Ten pounds, ten feet overhead, falling on
your toe hurts some inexpressible number of linear ouch! A volkswagen,
about 1200 poundforce, falling about 1200 feet, can easily sink a
(schooner, cat, dinghy?) tugboat. Muzzle energy of a good rifle, 2500
footpounds, is like 50 pounds dropping 50 feet concentrated into less than
a square centimeter. I remember learning about the bifurcation of the
energy curve for water in an open channel, and seeing a hydraulic jump
later during a storm (a manifestation of that bifurcation). I've wanted
since to tie off and rappel through such a jump. I think that common sense
means shared experience in the most literal way, and agree with the
previous post in this thread that metrics are good for useless unit
conversions. The more converting you do, the more you need metrics. The
less, the better you can enjoy common units. Don't waste time trying to
get an ice cube to run you up a hill as it melts using common units! Use
direct methods of measure whenever possible. Avoid quantizing
unnecessarily. It spreads entropy around....
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