The United States is one of the few countries left in the world who still have not converted to using the Metric System as a standardized system of measurement. Instead of going along with what the rest of the world uses, we stubbornly still adhere to using the imprecise Imperial Unit – despite the fact that practically every other country that we interact with uses Metric.
Why should we convert to using the Metric System? Because it’s superior, less convoluted – everything is ordered in units of tens, while the chaotic arrangement of the Imperial System slows things down for us – not only in terms of education, but also businesses, science, foreign relations, and daily life.
I “heart” METRIC – Requirements Sheet & skill badge.The Metric System is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world. The United States is the only industrialised country that has not defined a metric system as its official system of measurement, although the use of a metric system has been sanctioned for use there since 1866. Although the United Kingdom committed to officially adopting a metric system for many measurement applications, one is still not in universal use there and the customary imperial system is still in common and widespread use. Although the originators intended to devise a system that was equally accessible to all, it proved necessary to use prototype units under the custody of government or other approved authorities as standards. Until 1875, control of the prototype units of measure was maintained by the French Government when it passed to an inter-governmental organisation – the Conférence générale des poids et mesures (CGPM). It is now hoped that the last of these prototypes can be retired by 2014 via Wikipedia.
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While I would love to see a switch to the Metric system, it’s not as simple as it may sound. Nearly every mechanical object in the United States that uses stock raw materials has been designed for English units. When you buy steel/aluminum/wood/ it comes in English units. Making the change not only requires raw materials manufacturers to retool for different dimensions, but it also requires all of those existing designs to be reworked. During a transition, raw materials manufacturers would be required to have both materials on hand. Material delivery times would be greatly affected when one mill is now required to run twice as many geometries. There are loses in change over that can’t be recovered. Don’t get me wrong, as an automation Mechanical Design Engineer I would love to see the change, but it’s not as easy as it may seem.
firstly, the US system of units is not imprecise.
it is fully traced to the SI unit definitions
by your friends at NIST.
secondly, the longer point:
i like SI. it’s nice and neat for physics.
but for everyday quantities
units like inches, feet, pounds, cups and gallons
are just really useful sizes.
there is a reason they don’t go away… a good number of people LIKE them. arguments about familiarity aside,
they correspond well to the size of a human being.
so–
if you like metric units in your day to day life… use them! let true democracy rule:
teach your friends cooking in mL.
quote the temp in degC.
tell people about your shiny new 60.9cm flat-panel LCD.
be the change you want in the world, rather than
going top-down and legislating what units we all use.
While I would love to see a switch to the Metric system, it’s not as simple as it may sound. Nearly every mechanical object in the United States that uses stock raw materials has been designed for English units. When you buy steel/aluminum/wood/ it comes in English units. Making the change not only requires raw materials manufacturers to retool for different dimensions, but it also requires all of those existing designs to be reworked. During a transition, raw materials manufacturers would be required to have both materials on hand. Material delivery times would be greatly affected when one mill is now required to run twice as many geometries. There are loses in change over that can’t be recovered. Don’t get me wrong, as an automation Mechanical Design Engineer I would love to see the change, but it’s not as easy as it may seem.
=)
Did you know that the US is a signatory to the metric agreement?
Finally I just signed that petition. I saw on my local news channel. Please sign it and show support thank you.
Finally decided to take the full-on metric plunge myself in 2014 (at least for personal stuff since it’s easier here in Europe): http://www.microbuilder.eu/Blog/13-01-07/New_Year_s_Resolution_Full_Metric_for_PCB_Layout.aspx
Curious how it works out in reality, though!
firstly, the US system of units is not imprecise.
it is fully traced to the SI unit definitions
by your friends at NIST.
secondly, the longer point:
i like SI. it’s nice and neat for physics.
but for everyday quantities
units like inches, feet, pounds, cups and gallons
are just really useful sizes.
there is a reason they don’t go away… a good number of people LIKE them. arguments about familiarity aside,
they correspond well to the size of a human being.
so–
if you like metric units in your day to day life… use them! let true democracy rule:
teach your friends cooking in mL.
quote the temp in degC.
tell people about your shiny new 60.9cm flat-panel LCD.
be the change you want in the world, rather than
going top-down and legislating what units we all use.