Martin "inch-pound" does not name a complete, coherent and well defined measurement "system" as you observe. "inch-pound" is at best a "non-system." Discard the name "inch-pound."
The name "Imperial" units of measurement includes definitions which differ from US definitions, as you also note. Avoid the name "imperial units" unless you are actually discussing specific deviations from US definitions as e.g. for the UK pint. Recent Federal Laws declare preference for SI for US trade and commerce. If anything, "U.S. Customary" now means SI, as in most design measurements of automobiles and farm and mining vehicles. "Standard" Units of Measurement now means SI. One could write "standard (SI) units, or "standard (metric) units" since "metric" is now defined to mean "SI" again by "declarations" as codified in Federal Law. Most units of measurement outside the SI are now defined as exact numerical multiples of SI units. "Non-SI units" or "Units Outside the SI" are the most accurate descriptions or terminology for all the non-SI units. Eugene Mechtly ________________________________________ From: owner-u...@colostate.edu [owner-u...@colostate.edu] on behalf of c...@traditio.com [c...@traditio.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 11:57 AM To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:53181] Re: Metric / Imperial / "Standard" Concerning Metric Pioneer's recent correspondence, I've always had a problem with what to call the U.S. measurements. Officially, the term "inch-pound" has been used. I don't care for that because it does not indicate clearly a measurement system. Moreover, it singles out only two measurements, whereas there are many in the "system." Another common term used is "U.S. Customary" (USC). Is this a good choice? Now "Imperial" is being recommended by some. Is this a good alternative? I suspect that most people would not connect "imperial" with the United States, perhaps Canada. I agree that "standard" is not a good choice at all. The standard should be SI metric. Paul Trusten and you other USMA officers out there, what is the current recommendation? Martin Morrison USMA "Metric Today" Columnist
