Quiz - Physics - Displacement

[Storker]

not ha

What's "ha"?

 

[rhwestfall]

What's "ha"?

hectares..... boy have we gotten off track....

 

[Storker]

hectares

Damn. Serves me right for not considering units for area.

 

[skearse]

Well, lbs, BTU and all that crap is a serious PITA and has no merit. Being aware of them and being able to convert to proper units is of course a big advantage, but who in their right mind would want to do calculations in that system?

Just look at the PADI curriculum physics in metric and non-metric units. Sure, they simplify a lot, but still.

Whether or not I'm in my right mind may be debatable, but honestly? Me. After learning SI in school and then spending the next 20 years in engineering & manufacturing using imperial units, and now the last five relearning SI, the imperial system is what I 'know.' Yes factors of 10 for conversions are a heck of a lot easier for quick conversions, but they don't "mean" the same thing to me that imperial equivalents do. I know that a tote of material holds 330-gallons and that drums are 55-gallons and that trucks hold 45,000 lbs of material (give or take)...when someone tells me that a load is 20 metric tons, I have to stop and convert that to pounds in my head to give it context. Same thing with temps, densities, pressures, etc.

 

[HKGuns]

Cubits.

 

[BlueTrin]

Whether or not I'm in my right mind may be debatable, but honestly? Me. After learning SI in school and then spending the next 20 years in engineering & manufacturing using imperial units, and now the last five relearning SI, the imperial system is what I 'know.' Yes factors of 10 for conversions are a heck of a lot easier for quick conversions, but they don't "mean" the same thing to me that imperial equivalents do. In know that a tote of material holds 330-gallons and that drums are 55-gallons and that trucks hold 45,000 lbs of material (give or take)...when someone tells me that a load is 20 metric tons, I have to stop and convert that to pounds in my head to give it context. Same thing with temps, densities, pressures, etc.

Isn’t it because you grew up with imperial, if you grew up with metric that would not be an issue ?

Sorry if you meant something else

 

[skearse]

Isn’t it because you grew up with imperial, if you grew up with metric that would not be an issue ?

Sorry if you meant something else

PQNLD? That's kind of the point. And yes, if I'd grown up with/worked with SI I'd be happier in that. I've worked in SI for four years of undergrad plus ~5 years of work life and it's still a bit "abstract" to me.

 

[JohnN]

I spent too much of my undergrad time in chemistry labs where even in dark ages, SI units were universal.

I still have a hard time conceptualizing what a Newton (and thus a Pascal) 'really' is. Yes, I know pounds can be a measure of mass and force applied to an area, but I do have an idea what 10 psi means, the equivalent in Pascals is just too obscure. I think that's why even devoted SI users equate 1 bar with 1 atmosphere of pressure

 

[Storker]

I know pounds can be a measure of mass and force applied to an area, but I do have an idea what 10 psi means, the equivalent in Pascals is just too obscure.

You have an instictive understanding what an lb (mass) is so you have a head start understanding what an lbf or an lb/sq in is. Someone who grew up in metric country has an instinctive understanding of what a kg (mass) is so they have a head start understanding what a kp or a bar is. Simple as that.

I think that's why even devoted SI users equate 1 bar with 1 atmosphere of pressure

It's close enough for government work. The difference is1.3٪. Not particularly significant

 

[JohnN]

It's close enough for government work. The difference is1.3٪. Not particularly significant

so it's something like: "a pint's a pound, the world around"