Stan (Jackuba)-- I agree with your final point. I think that we will see
metrication come naturally rather than by government mandate. One big
driver is technology. I have noticed that when a new area of technology
is rolled out -- electric cars and Compact Fluorescent Lights, for
example, they start 100% metric. Did you hear any complaints about CFLs
being measure in lumens? No. I doubt that any but us metricists even
know what a lumen is!
I hear metric units being spoken of more and more in the broadcast media.
Millimeters are commonly used for small distances. Meters and kilometers
are also heard more. Degrees Celsius are all over the international
reports that are on cable television.
A personal experience. When I went for a medical appointment a year ago,
I gave my height in centimeters and weight in kilograms. This caused some
confusion because the computer program wasn't set up for it. When I went
in a year later, no problem. I was told that the computer program was set
up, and that more patients were giving their data in metric units. If you
monitor your diet in grams, why shouldn't you monitor your weight in
kilograms?
In some ways, a governmental metric mandate may be preferable, but in some
ways not. Look at Britain. It is supposed to be metricated, but it is
still pretty mixed up after all these years. --Martin Morrison
============
On Wed, 20 Jul 2016, Stanislav Jakuba wrote:
Old-timers will remember that several decades ago there was yet another push
for metrication. At
that time, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), among others, switched to
publishing its
flagship AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING magazine in metric units. I am purposely not
saying SI, because old
metric units were still there, the editors not knowing better. A decade later,
it was back to IP
units at SAE, enacted on a protest by protesting "letters form members." (It
was 6 or 8 letters we
were told and none of us on the committee saw any of them; the rumor was that
they originated with
influential retirees).
Now I am pleased to share with you that, in the latest issue, although still
?dual united? here and
there, almost all units were SI metric including the most ignored unit of them
all, the joule.
Here are some examples: Referring to the Le Mans racing technology the article
says ?10 MJ per lap?
(followed by the silly conversion of (2.77 kWh)). Porsche has 8 MJ assist, Audi
6 MJ (no I-Ps). Car
dimensions 4650 mm l., 1050 mm w., 1050 h. (with inches in brackets), but both
the displacement
volume and fuel capacity in L only.
Perhaps the new era of fuel efficiency in racing and the existence of both IC
and el. cars will
accomplish what our generation has not.
Stan J.
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