Metric vs Imperial

[Akimbo]

I hate to tell everyone, but Bar is not the official Metric unit for pressure. The correct SI (Le Système international d'unités) unit is the Pascal or Newton/Meter².

Pressure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are plenty of pressure gauges calibrated in Bar and relatively few in Kilo-Pascals in Europe now. It appears that even France as cultural momentum issues.

 

[nimoh]

The problem with converting a population from imperial to metric is that eventually you have to stop thinking in terms of converting from one to the other and just start thinking in terms of the new units. We have succeeded in doing that wherever we have just made the change and left no option. Soft drinks come in 1 liter and 2 liter bottles, and nobody seems concerned. Liquor is sold in metric units as well. Nobody seems to have a problem with that.

When America tried to convert, where I lived all of the highway MPH signs were printed with two numbers: MPH and KPH. Of course, everyone just looked at the MPH number and ignored the KPH number, making that transition worthless. In nearby Canada, they were making the transition, and they just put the signs in KPH. Everyone seemed to adjust pretty quickly, because they had no choice.

funny you should bring up alcohol. I am a Canadian living in the USA and have noticed something peculiar. In the US I us imperial units for pretty much everything except alcohol. When I go to the liquor store, I can get a 750ml, a 1.14L or a 1.75L bottle. When I am back in Canada pretty much everything I see is in metric except when I go to the liquor store where bottles come in sizes of 26oz, 40oz and 66oz.

 

[agilis]

Is literacy a requirement for certification? If an illiterate but otherwise competent individual were to seek certification, would they first have to learn to read? It would be easy enough to use pictographs on gauges, some graphic representation of volume and depth. A smiley face which gradually changed from smiley to neutral to an increasingly severe frown as gas volume decreased, or as depth increased could be inscribed on the appropriate gauge face. After all, the printed symbols on gauges are arbitrary. You could convert from metric to imperial with a fine pointed waterproof magic marker.

And what about blind divers, and those pathetic geezers who insist on diving despite being unable to see aything less than 4 feet away without special lenses and magnification? You know who you are.

 

[elan]

. Rarely do temps go outside 0 to 100 F avoiding the need for negative numbers. .

You are kidding right?
Even in the US in northen states you will see negative numbers during winter season.

 

[nimoh]

In general I would prefer if we moved to metric but metric is arbitrary as well. I actually prefer Fahrenheit to Celsius for everyday use. Rarely do temps go outside 0 to 100 F avoiding the need for negative numbers. I find that the Celsius scale is just to course, a change of one degree C represents too large a change.

Celsius and Fahrenheit

there is a lot more to temperature than just outside temperature, my oven is digital, and I have to press the up button way too many times to get to 400F to make a pizza as compared with 205C.

 

[Oldbear]

And what about blind divers, and those pathetic geezers who insist on diving despite being unable to see...

Blind Divers are "Pathetic geezers" --- Really?

Beware of making statements like this; Life has a way of biting you in the ass! :fire:

 

[agilis]

Blind Divers are "Pathetic geezers" --- Really?

Beware of making statements like this; Life has a way of biting you in the ass! :fire:

Let's be clear here, OB. I wrote blind divers AND those pathetic geezers. The two groups were not in any way combined. My comments identified them as two entirely separate categories.

I should point out that my driver's license indicates that I'm 70 years old, so I blame NJ Department of Motor Vehicles for this unfortunate condition. When I first used borrowed scuba equipment JFK was still alive. Happily, I'm so nearsighted in one eye that I don't need reading glasses and can see gauges effortlessly (if I close one eye). The other eye is 20/20 so I don't need glasses of any kind. My biggest problem is remembering where the hell I parked my car.