Going it alone!

[Wulfman]

ein viertelliter - a quarter of a liter
ein halber liter - half a liter



mfg
wulfman

[JTD]

Volume is usually measured in mililitres for small volumes and litres for the rest here...but yeah, the best part of metric system is ease of conversion.

And it's easy to convert from volume to weight (and vice versa): 1 litre of water at 20°C weighs 1 kg.

[dZeus]

not exactly though, as even at 4 degrees C it weighs less than 1 kg

[Mehen]

Volume is usually measured in mililitres for small volumes and litres for the rest here...but yeah, the best part of metric system is ease of conversion.

its hard to imagine doing any physics or chemistry without metric, I think I would've just dropped out and become an arts student if I couldn't use it

look how quickly we phase out standards in the PC world (how long did socket 940 and 754 last?? ) - I really don't think it would be too hard to switch everything to metric

[Mehen]

I would miss being able to say I'm 'over 6' though', 'over 1.83m' just wouldn't have the same ring to it, I guess the SI unit of being tall would be 2.00m - which I am not

[Nowhere]

not exactly though, as even at 4 degrees C it weighs less than 1 kg

As if that would be in any way significant...

[Umfriend]

I would miss being able to say I'm 'over 6' though', 'over 1.83m' just wouldn't have the same ring to it, I guess the SI unit of being tall would be 2.00m - which I am not

True. The SI equivalent is "over 100k" (but it ain;t that good).

[dZeus]

As if that would be in any way significant...

it isn't, but stating 20 degrees C specifically doesn't make sense in that case

[KvHagedorn]

It shall be lawful throughout the United States of America to employ the weights and measures of the metric system; and no contract or dealing, or pleading in any court, shall be deemed invalid or liable to objection because the weights or measures expressed or referred to therein are weights or measures of the metric system.

As a result, the U. S. has been "metric" since 1866, but only in the sense that Americans have been free since that time to use the metric system as much as they like. Although there has always been popular resistance to changing the traditional measures, the metric system has actually enjoyed strong support from American business leaders and scientists since the late nineteenth century. In 1875, the U.S. was one of the original signers of the Treaty of the Meter, which established the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM). This agency administers the International System of Units, the official version of the metric system. American scientists and engineers have always been among the leaders in improving, extending, and revising the metric system. The general public, however, has lagged far behind.

Alright, puppies, this is what I was talking about. Whereas the Brits would impose some sort of PUNISHMENT for using another system, way back in 1866, us "primitive" yanks said it was fine either way, no big deal.

Maybe there's no room to incarcerate murderers for more than 7 years because the prisons there are crowded with butchers who sold a pound of meat? Damned bureaucrats.

[gt40]

technically, 1L of water has a MASS of about 1KG, and a WEIGHT of 9.8 N, if we are going to get picky about it

[Brian Ellis]

Well, if you wish to be picky, the density of water is exactly 1.00000 kg/dm3 at 3.98°C and a litre is defined as 1 dm3 or 1000 cm3. At 20°C, the density is 0.99823 kg/dm3 and at 4°C it is 0.999999804 kg/dm3, which is as near to 1 as "God damn us all" is to swearing.

And there is no such unit as a KG (unless you count the standard abbreviation of a Knight of the Order of the Garter as a unit) and L is a lambert, not a litre. A kilogram is kg and a litre is l. An you should always place a space between the value and the unit. Just to be a wee bittie more picky!

[KvHagedorn]

Better listen! You might be sent to the tower!

[gt40]

Well, if you wish to be picky, the density of water is exactly 1.00000 kg/dm3 at 3.98°C and a litre is defined as 1 dm3 or 1000 cm3. At 20°C, the density is 0.99823 kg/dm3 and at 4°C it is 0.999999804 kg/dm3, which is as near to 1 as "God damn us all" is to swearing.

And there is no such unit as a KG (unless you count the standard abbreviation of a Knight of the Order of the Garter as a unit) and L is a lambert, not a litre. A kilogram is kg and a litre is l. An you should always place a space between the value and the unit. Just to be a wee bittie more picky!

I was SHOUTING the units

[Jammrock]

Because American's are ignorant, stubborn and unwilling to change. All the science classes teach the metric system, and nearly all out forumlas are done metric, but once you leave school you never use it again (unless you are an engineer or scientist of some type). So ignorance prevails and the US keeps on using the old English system.

For example, after two years of living in Denmark I knew the metric system well. Weights, distances, speeds, volume, etc... But now that I've been back in the US for ten years I'm locked back on to the English system. Near Canada they have dual MPH/KPH miles/KM highway signage, but nothing further south. The closest we get to the metric system in daily life is 2 liters of soda.

[GT98]

The closest we get to the metric system in daily life is 2 liters of soda.

Heres a question....didnt the switch over to liter size bottles of soda happen in the early 80's? And what size where they before that? I was only 6-7 when it happened