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Metric System - Printable Version

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Metric System - z0mgc00k13 - 2009-01-06

lol
*clink**clink**clink**clink**clink**clink**clink**clink*

Metric System - Kabanaw - 2009-01-06

Pfff. Metric. Who needs base 10?

I hate 10.

Metric System - Nikkey - 2009-01-06

Russt Wrote:1/5 in base 12 = 0.2497 repeating

We should totally use base 6 though:
1/2 = 0.3
1/3 = 0.2
1/4 = 0.13
1/5 = 0.11111 repeating
1/10 = 0.1
1/11 = 0.050505 repeating
1/12 = 0.043
1/13 = 0.04
1/14 = 0.033333 repeating
1/15 = something very messy
1/20 = 0.03

base 16.

Or man, base 2. even 1/10 would make an irregular fraction, lol.

Metric System - Dusk - 2009-01-06

Russt Wrote:1/5 in base 12 = 0.2497 repeating

We should totally use base 6 though:
1/2 = 0.3
1/3 = 0.2
1/4 = 0.13
1/5 = 0.11111 repeating
1/10 = 0.1
1/11 = 0.050505 repeating
1/12 = 0.043
1/13 = 0.04
1/14 = 0.033333 repeating
1/15 = something very messy
1/20 = 0.03
Ok, I didn't pause to consider it too carefully. Base 6 FTW.

Metric System - Alloy - 2009-01-06

Base 10 is the way to go.

I mean, HECK, the NUMBERS we use are base 10! Why do we have to make it any harder? It's just adding or taking away zeroes...

Anyone mind to show me a table of the other system? I'm now curious, because I can't imagine how can the metric sistem be that hard.

Metric System - JoeTang - 2009-01-06

12 Inches = 1 Foot
3 Feet = 1 Yard
220 Yards = 1 Furlong
8 Furlongs = 1 Mile
3 Miles = 1 League

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!?!

Metric System - Nikkey - 2009-01-06

JoeTang Wrote:12 Inches = 1 Foot
3 Feet = 1 Yard
220 Yards = 1 Furlong
8 Furlongs = 1 Mile
3 Miles = 1 League

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!?!

compared to this:
1000 nm = 1 µm
1000 µm = 1 mm
10 mm = 1 cm
10 cm = 1 dm
10 dm = 1 m
10 m = 1 decametre
10 decametre = 1 hectometre
10 hectometre = 1 kilometre

I know what I'll be using.

Metric System - Hazzy - 2009-01-06

Alloy Wrote:Base 10 is the way to go.

I mean, HECK, the NUMBERS we use are base 10! Why do we have to make it any harder? It's just adding or taking away zeroes...

They're talking about using a base for numbers, not measuring stuff.
ie,

Base 12
Base 10Base 2
000
111
2210
3311
44100
55101
66110
77111
881000
991001
A101010
B111011
10121100


Metric System - Dusk - 2009-01-06

Alloy Wrote:Base 10 is the way to go.

I mean, HECK, the NUMBERS we use are base 10! Why do we have to make it any harder? It's just adding or taking away zeroes...

Anyone mind to show me a table of the other system? I'm now curious, because I can't imagine how can the metric sistem be that hard.

This is how you count in base 6.

1
2
3
4
5
10
11
12
13
14
15
20
21
22
..
51
52
53
54
55
100
101
...and so forth.

It is also just adding and taking away zeroes. Converting from one unit to another would still be a matter of multiplying by 10(base 6) to some power.

My main issue with the metric system is how complicated dividing by simple numbers like 2,3 and 4 become. Want to split an inch into sixteenths? Sure. We call it 1/16 inches. Want to split a cm into sixteenths? That's 6.25*10^-4 meters. Use fractions please.

Really, the only units I really want to hang on to are length, mass, and volume. Volume with gallons, quarts, pints, cups, ounces, tablespoons, and teaspoons is way easier than with ---liters. Why? Because they're all conveniently multiples of 2s and 3s, which is awesome when you're doing everyday things like mixing things.

I'd use Liters, Kilograms, and Meters when doing Engineering stuff, though, because the Metric system works wonderfully for things that aren't so everyday. If only it weren't base 10.

You can have temperature. I'd rather use Celsius, as it's based on figures we actually work with rather than something random like the maximum the freezing point of water can be depressed by adding solutes o_o

Metric System - Alloy - 2009-01-06

Dusk Wrote:My main issue with the metric system is how complicated dividing by simple numbers like 2,3 and 4 become. Want to split an inch into sixteenths? Sure. We call it 1/16 inches. Want to split a cm into sixteenths? That's 6.25*10^-4 meters. Use fractions please.

Ah! but you can still say 1/16 of a centimeter... Granted, sounds odd, but can still do the trick on maths. Wanna transform it to meters? 1/1600. Gets easy to master.

I live in Spain, so we only use the metric system. Not sure if my points are 100% valid, so feel free to tell.

Dusk Wrote:This is how you count in base 6.

I see the point now... I just mean that considering our numbers are base 10, it gets easier. Also, works better for more exact measurements in less space.

Metric System - Nikkey - 2009-01-06

Dusk Wrote:My main issue with the metric system is how complicated dividing by simple numbers like 2,3 and 4 become. Want to split an inch into sixteenths? Sure. We call it 1/16 inches. Want to split a cm into sixteenths? That's 6.25*10^-4 meters. Use fractions please.

huh?

splitting an inch into sixteenths is 1/16 inch.

splitting a cm into sixteenths is 1/16 cm.

Why would you not use fractions?

Metric System - Russt - 2009-01-06

Dusk Wrote:I'd use Liters, Kilograms, and Meters when doing Engineering stuff, though, because the Metric system works wonderfully for things that aren't so everyday. If only it weren't base 10.
The annoying thing with that is, a lot of the time, you're going to want to divide by 2 a lot. Say something is 27 cm long and you cut it into 2 halves. They're each 13.5 cm. And say you want to put a hole through the center of each half. Then the hole is 6.75 cm from each end. And say you want to shear off half from each side so that the whole thing gets downsized. Then you have to measure out 3.375 cm, and so on.

Each digit in base 10 can only take one power of 2, so it's weak in that respect. Then again, so would base 6. Base 12 would be preferable there, since each digit can be divided by 2 twice:

1
0.6
0.3
0.16
0.09
0.046
0.023
0.0116

etc

Metric System - Dusk - 2009-01-07

Devil's Sunrise Wrote:huh?

splitting an inch into sixteenths is 1/16 inch.

splitting a cm into sixteenths is 1/16 cm.

Why would you not use fractions?

I dunno, whenever people make me use the metric system they tell me to use scientific notation. When I did drafting in high school, we used fractional inches and feet instead.

Metric System - Russt - 2009-01-07

SI units in a scientific context != metric in common usage.