Request for metric values in explanations.
Request for metric values in explanations.
Todays explanation (june 23, 2007 Baringer Meteorite Crater) holds a lot of meaningless data for most of the world. Would it be possible put metric data in these descriptions?
It's not easy trying to make sense of these:
the crater's dimensions --
one mile wide,
and up to 570 feet deep
300,000 ton
130 feet across
26,000 miles per hour
6 to 12 miles across.
It's not easy trying to make sense of these:
the crater's dimensions --
one mile wide,
and up to 570 feet deep
300,000 ton
130 feet across
26,000 miles per hour
6 to 12 miles across.
Re: Request for metric values in explanations.
Most computers come with a calculator. Many even have a 'convert units' type of function. Also check out http://www.onlineconversion.com/
one mile -- 1.6 km
570 feet -- 175 m
300,000 ton -- 272 million kg
130 feet -- 40 m
26,000 miles per hour -- 41,839 km/h
9 miles across -- 14 km
But of course scientists, including APOD description writers, should be using metric units anyway.
Lack of metrication has already cost us a Mars-bound satellite.
one mile -- 1.6 km
570 feet -- 175 m
300,000 ton -- 272 million kg
130 feet -- 40 m
26,000 miles per hour -- 41,839 km/h
9 miles across -- 14 km
But of course scientists, including APOD description writers, should be using metric units anyway.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Lack of metrication has already cost us a Mars-bound satellite.
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Re: Request for metric values in explanations.
Well yes.Case wrote:Most computers come with a calculator. Many even have a 'convert units' type of function. Also check out http://www.onlineconversion.com/
one mile -- 1.6 km
570 feet -- 175 m
300,000 ton -- 272 million kg
130 feet -- 40 m
26,000 miles per hour -- 41,839 km/h
9 miles across -- 14 km
But of course scientists, including APOD description writers, should be using metric units anyway.![]()
Lack of metrication has already cost us a Mars-bound satellite.
But APOD is aimed at everyone.
And a lot of people viewing APOD don't use metric at all.
To restrict it to metric only (or just imperial for that matter) limits the understanding that APOD is trying to foster.
I think it should be metric as first choice followed by imperial units in brackets.
That way everyone is catered for.
Personally I use both, depending on who I am talking to.
Regards,
Andy.
Andy.
Re: Request for metric values in explanations.
A lot of people don't use... that... emm... I mean, they do not even know how your god-given american unit system is called.Andy Wade wrote:But APOD is aimed at everyone.
And a lot of people viewing APOD don't use metric at all.
Oh, thank you, now I know.Andy Wade wrote:...followed by imperial units in brackets.
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Re: Request for metric values in explanations.
I don't understand your post, you're going to have to explain that to me.makc wrote:A lot of people don't use... that... emm... I mean, they do not even know how your god-given american unit system is called.Andy Wade wrote:But APOD is aimed at everyone.
And a lot of people viewing APOD don't use metric at all.Oh, thank you, now I know.Andy Wade wrote:...followed by imperial units in brackets.
Regards,
Andy.
Andy.
I'm sorry, it was not until now when I noticed the above "location" thing; it was so ignorant for me to assert that only americans cannot imagine that there is whole other world beyond their borders that may - unlike them - be using metrics since I remember myself. I now see this applies to England as wellLocation: Oakworth, Yorkshire, England
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
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I knew there was a good reason to add my locationmakc wrote:I'm sorry, it was not until now when I noticed the above "location" thing; it was so ignorant for me to assert that only americans cannot imagine that there is whole other world beyond their borders that may - unlike them - be using metrics since I remember myself. I now see this applies to England as wellLocation: Oakworth, Yorkshire, EnglandNot to sound rude or something, but I wonder where did you get those statistics that most of APOD visitors do not use or have no idea about metric system?
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Ah I see. I'll try to explain myself.
At school here in England we were the last classes to be taught imperial units and the first classes to be taught metric units way back in the 1970's just before great Britain 'went metric'. This placed my age group in a very good position as I learned to understand both sysytems, unlike classes behind us who were not taught the Imperial system, and had to struggle in a world where most people still used Imperial (and still do today) and they had only learned metric.
We're pretty stubborn here and a lot of people steadfastly refuse to use metric as they believe it was foisted upon them by Europe and since we've spent the last few hundred years fighting all the other European countries (and mostly winning) they see no reason to listen to them.
For 'stubborn' read 'cantankerous old gits'
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
I just suggested both systems as it works for me and (mostly) keeps eveyone happy... mostly.
Ah well, you can please some people, some of the time, etc etc...
When I said 'A lot of people viewing APOD' I was just assuming that most Americans (and old gits here) use their version of Imperial measurements and the rest of the world probably uses Metric.
I actually have no idea of the demographics of the visitors to APOD. Does the average American come to APOD?
But there must be quite a few who don't understand the measurements used (there I go again... assuming)
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Perhaps its time for a poll? Maybe not eh?
Oh, and just last year in this country, Customs and Excise successfully prosecuted a Butcher for selling meat by the pound to his pensioner customers because they didn't understand metric (and why would they?) He was just accomodating his customers wishes. What a waste of public money.
Now our beloved Government is looking at taking away our 'pint' of beer (again). I'll have 500ml of beer please...
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
This is viewed cynically as just another way of diddling people out of more money. How can we compare (without a calculator) prices when they change it over? Since a pint doesn't easily equate with part of a litre(liter for our American visitors) it's will be a good time to screw a few unsuspecting customers with a stealthy price rise. What a surprise.
I apologise and I know it's way OT but this is beer we're talking about.
Haven't they got anything better to do?
Did I just have a rant? Sheesh. Sorry about that.
![Embarassed :oops:](./images/smilies/icon_redface.gif)
Regards,
Andy.
Andy.
Hey, that's funny, but in Russia we had always zero-point-five beer standard. Onl recently they added .3 to the list, probably we drink less these days. And, poll would be great idea, btw; at least we would see some real data.Andy Wade wrote:Perhaps its time for a poll? Maybe not eh?..
Now our beloved Government is looking at taking away our 'pint' of beer (again). I'll have 500ml of beer please...![]()
btw, there's a great image in Case' link.
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The Wikipedia page is quite an eye opener.makc wrote:btw, there's a great image in Case' link.
Although saying a country uses metric doesn't quite show the full story, as it doesn't say how much of the population of that country abide by their 'official position'. We're supposed to be fully metric in England, but as I said before, the population is still a little bit divided. I think we're going to have to wait until my generation has all died out before we can say we're truly metric.
I voted for the 'other' option as there wasn't an option for 'Using both'
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Regards,
Andy.
Andy.
- iamlucky13
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Re: Request for metric values in explanations.
Darned right...let's use intuitive units that everyone can understand:Andy Wade wrote:Well yes.
But APOD is aimed at everyone.
And a lot of people viewing APOD don't use metric at all.
To restrict it to metric only (or just imperial for that matter) limits the understanding that APOD is trying to foster.
one mile -- 1.6 km -- 4.94 Eiffel Towers
570 feet -- 175 m -- 190 shoelaces
300,000 ton -- 272 million kg -- 359,000 Volkswagon Beetles
130 feet -- 40 m -- 130 breadboxes
26,000 miles per hour -- 41,839 km/h -- 19.3 times the Concorde
9 miles across -- 14 km -- 3431 Volkswagon Beetles
Actually...aren't the captions written by quite a few different people? I don't know the editing process for the APOD's, although I gathered it was managed completely separately from nightskylive.
Regardless, if I had to pick just one, it would be metric because of international commonality. I can usually convert numbers in my head with enough accuracy to appreciate the gist of the caption.
"Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man." ~J. Robert Oppenheimer (speaking about Albert Einstein)
The default should be metric units. Surely!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SI-m ... -world.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SI-m ... -world.png
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Re: Request for metric values in explanations.
Laughed so hard I about fell out of my chair!iamlucky13 wrote: one mile -- 1.6 km -- 4.94 Eiffel Towers
570 feet -- 175 m -- 190 shoelaces
300,000 ton -- 272 million kg -- 359,000 Volkswagon Beetles
130 feet -- 40 m -- 130 breadboxes
26,000 miles per hour -- 41,839 km/h -- 19.3 times the Concorde
9 miles across -- 14 km -- 3431 Volkswagon Beetles
As you might surmise from my moniker, my location is the USA, state of Arizona, but I claim Scottish as part of my ancestry. Therefore, I'm thinking that weights in 'Stones' ought to be included in parentheses! 8)
My point is that any number of exotic systems of weights & measures may be included under the category "Other", and those users may be justified in asking for equal time (as it were) once the door is opened to include anything in parentheses.
btw, my vote was for "Imperial", whatever that is!
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Re: Request for metric values in explanations.
IMPERIAL because invented by the Brits to use in their Empire.AZJames wrote:Laughed so hard I about fell out of my chair!iamlucky13 wrote: one mile -- 1.6 km -- 4.94 Eiffel Towers
570 feet -- 175 m -- 190 shoelaces
300,000 ton -- 272 million kg -- 359,000 Volkswagon Beetles
130 feet -- 40 m -- 130 breadboxes
26,000 miles per hour -- 41,839 km/h -- 19.3 times the Concorde
9 miles across -- 14 km -- 3431 Volkswagon Beetles
As you might surmise from my moniker, my location is the USA, state of Arizona, but I claim Scottish as part of my ancestry. Therefore, I'm thinking that weights in 'Stones' ought to be included in parentheses! 8)
My point is that any number of exotic systems of weights & measures may be included under the category "Other", and those users may be justified in asking for equal time (as it were) once the door is opened to include anything in parentheses.
btw, my vote was for "Imperial", whatever that is!
Face it.
It's the USA's last link with real culture & civilisation.
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
Personally I still talk about pounds, shillings & pence, (& florins ie two-bob pieces, half-crowns ie "two-and-a-kick", & Aberdeen half-croons ie the old octagonal 3d pieces).
Re: Request for metric values in explanations.
Seing how they united the measures of length and time in SI'83*, your system opens even wider perspective to unite the measures of length and mass.iamlucky13 wrote: 300,000 ton -- 272 million kg -- 359,000 Volkswagon Beetles
...
9 miles across -- 14 km -- 3431 Volkswagon Beetles
*The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.
Re: Request for metric values in explanations.
Oh! Low blow!toejam wrote:Face it.
It's the USA's last link with real culture & civilisation.![]()
Why else would you hang on so to a complicated system like that?
Personally I still talk about pounds, shillings & pence, (& florins ie two-bob pieces, half-crowns ie "two-and-a-kick", & Aberdeen half-croons ie the old octagonal 3d pieces).
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Just to confuse the issue, the US Navy and Air Force and all civilian pilots use the nautical mile as a unit of measure (and velocity; ie, knots).
Now, it turns out that a nautical mile = 1,852 meters, exactly.
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
yes this division is unbelieveably ancient (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagesimal and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degree_%28 ... bdivisions)
- DavidLeodis
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Inches, feet, yards, metres (meters in the US), light years, parsecs.... It seems that nobody uses such as perches/poles, furlongs, chains anymore.
Ah well, a flagon of ale will do me nicely right now. Cheers all.
Incidentally, what happens to all the light when it meets the edge of the Universe or is that expanding quicker than the speed of light so it will not happen (until the Universe ever starts contracting). Wow, deep thought! I really do need that flagon now.![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Ah well, a flagon of ale will do me nicely right now. Cheers all.
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Incidentally, what happens to all the light when it meets the edge of the Universe or is that expanding quicker than the speed of light so it will not happen (until the Universe ever starts contracting). Wow, deep thought! I really do need that flagon now.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)