Re: Metric Time (was Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique))
Whittet (Whittet@shore.net)
11 Oct 1995 22:41:41 GMT
In article <45ef9f$rin@theorem.math.rpi.edu>, nebusj@theorem.math.rpi.edu says...
>
>lstowell@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell) writes:
>
>> Quick. You are 6 foot 1 inch tall. You have been strapped
>> to a pole mounted on a railroad car. The railroad car is
>> of the exact height that your feet are now exactly 1 foot
>> above the tracks.
>
>> You are approaching a tunnel at roughly 60 MPH.
>
>> Would you rather see a sign that gives the clearance in Meters
>> or Feet?
>
>> "Warning. 7 foot 2 inch Clearance!!"
>
>> "Warning 2.158 Meter Clearance".
>
> And they accuse Metric enthusiasts of coming up with arbitrary,
>ludicrous conversions to support the inherent superiority of Metrics.
>
> Alternative phrasing:
>
> You are 1.8m tall. You are strapped to a pole mounted on a railroad
>car so that you stand .3m above the tracks. You are approaching a tunnel
>at 100 kph. Would you rather see that the clearance of the tunnel was
>
> 2.2 m
>
> or
>
> 7 feet 2 inches
>
> Hm?
Neither. At 100 miles an hour a clearance of 2.54 inches would probably
create a venturi effect sucking you into contact with the structure above.
Secondly, since most tunnels are arched, if the pole is mounted above the
tracks instead of on the railroad cars center line, the maximum clearance
will not apply.
Thirdly, railroad cars traveling at 100 miles an hour tend to sway from
side to side.
The point is that the metric system gives the illusion of a precision which
is totally lacking in real life situations.
> Joseph Nebus
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve
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