On Thu, 25 Nov 1999, Tony Rhodes wrote:
> Well, I am not at all sure the US will be left behind because
> we do not switch to metric. Metric vs. English measurement
> as a meaningless distinction. The only purpose it does serve
> is for standardization (not a bad goal).
>
> It is cheaper to use English wrenches since they are
> usually graded in 1/16", so you would need only 16 of them
> to make a pretty complete set. Metric wrenches are every millimeter,
> and would require 25 of them to cover the same size range. The
> cost of a wrench set is about 156% higher, and they work
> no better!!
Last I checked, a wrench set of Metric wrenches (11 pcs) cost exactly the
same as a set of SAE onces (also 11 pcs)
When was the last time you used a 1/16" (or 1 mm!) wrench, anyway?
> The Farenheit temp scale is about twice as accurate when used
> in full degrees (such as in the weather report). How am I MORE informed
> if I use Celsius??
You aren't any more informed by using Celcius. But it's pretty easy once
you make the switch.
20 degrees C is room temperature. 0 is the freezing point of water. 100
is the boiling point. 40 is a hot day, -20 is pretty cold.
It is also graduated in the same scale as Kelvin, which doesn't have any
negative values (0 degrees K is absolute zero, or "the coldest anything
can be": -273 degrees C)
For all sorts of good stuff about temperature, see
http:///www.unidata.ucar.edu/staff/blynds/tmp.html
...with notes on Messrs. Farenheit and Celcius (and the Centigrade scale),
and even how Mr. Farenheit calibrated his thermometers. It's a bit more
difficult than finding the tripling point of water (the temperature at
which water can be a solid, liquid, AND gas: 0.01 degrees C)
Triumph content: my TR4's temp gauge is calibrated in degrees C.
-Malcolm
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