Re: A kilogram is a kilogram - earth or moon or pandora - Saab General Bulletin Board - Saabnet.com
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Re: A kilogram is a kilogram - earth or moon or pandora
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Posted by BlaaSaab [Email] (more from BlaaSaab) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:37:28 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: A kilogram is a kilogram - earth or moon or pandora, Bruce, Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:07:25
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Bruce is of course correct, except that a newton is defined using kilograms, not grams - one of the few oddities of the base units in the metric system.

Another pet peeve of mine is hearing people talking about "pounds" of turbo boost or tire pressure, when what they really mean is "pounds per square inch" - as if "p.s.i." isn't a good enough abbreviation. In the metric system, the Pascal exists to denote newtons per square meter, so you always know you're dealing with pressure when you use it.

Noel, the biggest problem I have with fractional measurements is that they invariably need to be converted to decimals at some point, and that's just asking for trouble. First of all, it's extra math that I'd rather not have to do. More importantly though, a not-too-scary fractional size like 11/32" converts to 0.34375", yet you'd need a micrometer to have any hope of measuring to that degree of precision. To make it more manageable you round off to 0.344", and hey, now you've just introduced error into the equation. Seems small on that scale, but it can quickly add up to a big discrepancy if it gets repeated.

For one project at work I had to look at hardware on late-model domestic and foreign SUVs, and I was just as likely to find the Big Three using metric bolts as I was the Japanese carmakers. I suspect this has to do with parts that are outsourced to an overseas supplier, as it's easier (read: cheaper) for them to make the parts if they can use metric materials and equipment that they have easy access to. Or perhaps they recognize that if they sell their US-built vehicles in other countries, every technician who has to maintain those cars will probably only have metric tools. Either way, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that.

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