FFIV DS announced!

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:21 am

sweener2001 wrote:what about geologists?

anything special for them? i realize astronomy numbers are much larger, but still, it must get annoying to constantly be talking about some millions of years.

Eras, epochs, periods...

corronchilejano · Post by **corronchilejano** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:12 am

Metric is a convenient way to change between larger and smaller units. English system is basically remembering relations between one another. Can anyone tell me how many ounces are in a gallon? How much is a galon anyway?

My biggest problem has been mass. WTF is a Slug? Why isn't it simply correlating to grams? Why is Weight Newtons Vs Pounds, but you go to the store and a phreaking Kilogram is two pounds?

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:31 am

corronchilejano wrote:How much is a galon anyway?

About $3.39 right now.

sweener2001 · Post by **sweener2001** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 10:03 am

pound-mass and pound-weight

ounces in a gallon, that's interesting.

8 ounces in a cup
2 cups in a pint
2 pints in a quart
4 quarts to a gallon

128 ounces, unless one of my conversions is wrong. i didn't look them up or anything fancy.

although that's usually a conversion that isn't made. for liquid measure, the cup tends to be the base unit.

and an "ah." for the geologist measurements.

corronchilejano · Post by **corronchilejano** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 2:18 pm

That's exactly why I'm against the English System. In the METRIC system, it's just Mililiters->Liters. People say foot is a "real life" measurement, and even though I agree it is easier to imagine, a foot is by no means a precise measurement. Not all feet are the exact same long, as well as the inches, and not always are 12 of one's inches equal to the length of a foot. In fact, I think 3 feet are a yard right? How many yards are a mile? Around 200? I'm not sure about that one either.
And yes sweener, I know pound-mass and pound-weight, I just think it's another one of those facts that confuse non-physics savy people. I know the general conversions for the english system up until to what energy accounts. Joules for the metric, maybe Dynas for small measures, but what was english again?

Tallgeese · Post by **Tallgeese** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:26 pm

...You're acting as if it not being precise is a point against the 'real life' argument. Most everyday life tends to not require exact precision.

Also, I'd rather hear 'The Green Mile' as opposed to "The Green Kilometer'.

Post by **badinsults** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:29 pm

sweener2001 wrote:what about geologists?

anything special for them? i realize astronomy numbers are much larger, but still, it must get annoying to constantly be talking about some millions of years.

I can assure you, that other than drilling, all things are done in metric in geology.

Post by **Agozer** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:33 pm

Personally, I'm quite comfortable with inches, feet, and miles.

Now, pounds, gallons, pints, quarts, cups - fuck them. Fuck them all to hell.

Deathlike2 · Post by **Deathlike2** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:43 pm

Agozer wrote:Personally, I'm quite comfortable with inches, feet, and miles.

Now, pounds, gallons, pints, quarts, cups - fuck them. Fuck them all to hell.

Pounds are fine. Gallons are fine too... and quarts to an extent. However, pints, cups are for baking and I can't bake worth a damn.

I would at least kill fluid ounces, if only because the 20 fluid ounce bottles are overrated. Gogo 1 Liter bottles!

Post by **grinvader** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:58 pm

sweener2001 wrote:pound-mass and pound-weight

Don't confuse mass and force, kids.

Your weight measuring balance reports the force (newtons) exerced by your mass (grams) on its platter divided by around 9.8 (which makes it rather inaccurate unless you're on the spots of the planet where g actually equals that).

sweener2001 · Post by **sweener2001** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:44 pm

1760 yards in a mile

variations on g hardly make scales inaccurate. isn't the variation of g between death valley and mount everest less than 2%?

i might be thinking about this the wrong way, since i'm assuming a perfectly spherical earth, but i also recall learning that using G to find g was unnecessary as long as the problem at hand stayed on earth

Post by **grinvader** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 10:03 pm

There's a way bigger variation if you remove the centrifugal force of the earth instead of trying to increase the distance from the center.
i.e. go to the pole (9.83217 m/s²) and equator (9.78039 m/s²). Bam, +/- 0.26% variation from the median value.

using G to find g was unnecessary as long as the problem at hand stayed on earth

That's when you don't want to confuse kids during the lesson. Then they grow up and learn things aren't as simple as they were previously taught.

Post by **badinsults** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:33 am

sweener2001 wrote:1760 yards in a mile

variations on g hardly make scales inaccurate. isn't the variation of g between death valley and mount everest less than 2%?

i might be thinking about this the wrong way, since i'm assuming a perfectly spherical earth, but i also recall learning that using G to find g was unnecessary as long as the problem at hand stayed on earth

For every m you get away from the surface of the earth, gravity about 3.089 gravity units (GU) less (1 GU is equaly to 1x10^-6 m.s^-2). Quite significant if you are doing a gravity survey, so you need your elevation to be within a cm or two if you want any meaningful readings. Major gravity anomalies might only be 10-100 GU.

sweener2001 · Post by **sweener2001** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:57 am

i suppose that for the scientist, it's a big deal

engineers get by fine enough.

it seems similar to a scientific chart showing tensile strength compared to that of a an engineering chart.

the scientist takes into account the changing diameter after necking occurs, so their curve keeps going up and up due to the ever decreasing cross-sectional area.

the engineer's chart maintains a constant cross sectional area, so once necking starts, the line starts to curve downward.

i respect the scientist's approach, and what their exacting research gives engineers, but the variations in g seem to be in a similar vein. important for scientific research, and unnecessary for engineering problems

snkcube · Post by **snkcube** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 3:32 am

Gil_Hamilton wrote:
corronchilejano wrote:How much is a galon anyway?
About $3.39 right now.

Not bad compared to $3.92. Damn this shitty economy!

Joe Camacho · Post by **Joe Camacho** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:12 am

I'll drink a pint.

Unforgiven · Post by **Unforgiven** » Fri May 02, 2008 11:57 am

It says something about the intelligence and childishness of average Americans who persist in using "feet" etc to measure things instead of catching up with the rest of the world in using the metric system.

To use an example, are we using a baby's foot or a basketballer's (probably negro) foot to measure? Inconsistencies galore!

I.S.T. · Post by **I.S.T.** » Fri May 02, 2008 12:12 pm

Could somebody remove Forgiven's avatar?

Unforgiven · Post by **Unforgiven** » Fri May 02, 2008 12:14 pm

I.S.T. wrote:Could somebody remove Forgiven's avatar?

What's wrong with it?

I.S.T. · Post by **I.S.T.** » Fri May 02, 2008 12:39 pm

Well, given that it's been put up specifically to freak people out...

Unless that's actually you, that is...

Johan_H · Post by **Johan_H** » Fri May 02, 2008 1:20 pm

How about removing his account altogether? He's obviously trolling, and ignoring his threads is getting annoying.

sweener2001 · Post by **sweener2001** » Fri May 02, 2008 5:11 pm

Unforgiven wrote:It says something about the intelligence and childishness of average Americans who persist in using "feet" etc to measure things instead of catching up with the rest of the world in using the metric system.

To use an example, are we using a baby's foot or a basketballer's (probably negro) foot to measure? Inconsistencies galore!

we're using a long dead king's foot

retard-o

Tallgeese · Post by **Tallgeese** » Fri May 02, 2008 5:44 pm

For once I agree with Johan_H. It's not even funny anymore.

whicker · Post by **whicker** » Sat May 03, 2008 10:13 pm

sweener2001 wrote:
Unforgiven wrote:It says something about the intelligence and childishness of average Americans who persist in using "feet" etc to measure things instead of catching up with the rest of the world in using the metric system.

To use an example, are we using a baby's foot or a basketballer's (probably negro) foot to measure? Inconsistencies galore!
we're using a long dead king's foot

retard-o

Well, if your shoes are men's size 13 (U.K. size 12), your foot is basically a foot long.

Neo Kaiser · Post by **Neo Kaiser** » Sat May 03, 2008 11:35 pm

Besides the foot system exits even before the king Henry ever existed.