I worked in a place that used tenths and 100ths for time. An hour was 100 minutes, a minute was 100 seconds, although there were still 24 "hours" in a day. The second, minute, and hour hands on a clock moved at the same pace, the markings on the clock were just different. It was confusing, but made sense when you worked with it. 8:15am would be 8:25, and 8:45 would be 8:75 (for 75 minutes , out of 100, past the hour)

Today, with science, I suppose we could construct a new system of time that could make one earth day revolution exactly one clock day, and one earth year around the sun an exact number of days (thereby eliminating leap year).

But why bother. And it would mess up comparisons to all past measurements.

You can't change the fact that the sun rises and sets 365 times (well 365.25 times, hence leap year) each year before the planet catches up to where it was 365 days before.

I suppose you could make it something nice and round like 100 days, but then your different seasons would end up at different points on the calendar. You could no longer rely on winter being in the same months each year, for example.

I suppose you could make 10-months with 36 days (with a leap year every two years to make up for that half day you miss each year), but...

oh screw it... too complicated.

I hate to disappoint the Metric haters in the group, but the only LEGAL measurement system in the United States has been the METRIC SYSTEM since 1866. All of our current "US" measurements are defined in terms of their metric equivalents. (i.e. the US standard yard is defined as 0.9144 of a standard meter. A US standard pound is 0.45359237 kilograms, etc.) Every country in the world whether it has a local system of measurement or uses the metric system, has in a vault, somewhere, the standard meter and standard kilogram issued by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures in France to define legal measure. In fact, each state in the United States has a set.

If you are in a scientific discipline you use the metric system. If you are involved in international trade you use the metric system. It makes sense that we join the rest of the world, decide on a period of transition, teach it in our schools, learn it, and use it.

I know, there will be millions of new measuring tapes, calipers and drill bits, but in my work I have to translate between metric and US equivalents, and I personally would have a lot fewer calculator keystrokes if we used the metric system.

Would the idea be a little more palatable to the metric resisters if at the same time we made English the official language of the United States?

How can u not like the metric system, it's ease of use with base 10 is simply essential for computing and scientific fields(think binary).Math is about understanding not overcomplicating things.The imperial system only adds frustration in a world that just needs 1 system.We canadians transitioned ages ago.Time for americans to do so likewise or in the very least make use of it more predominately.

If there's one thing I hate is to pop open my calculus txt book and lookup the conversion factors for us values.

It ain't gonna happen, but I agree that the USA should change to the metric system. Canada and the UK made the change. They adjusted to it; why couldn't we?

UK has only partially changed

Speed limits and distances on road signs are still in mph and miles

Draught Beer is sold in pints

and a few other 'Imperial' measurements exist

Hectares were mentioned in another post as not being metric - a hectares is 10,000 sq metres - 2.471 acre

land area where I live is still measured in 'Virgees' - haven't got a clue how much that is

Virgee's thats a new one I'll look it up!

See I have no problem with gradians or radians and degrees for measuring angular values considering you can derive most of these from trigonometric cofactors from right triangles or trig identities.

But the imperial system uses just scalar quantities as does the metric.There's nothing to derive from these.Our instructor from India mentioned if it's too confusing then more errors are bound to be made.

Here's a good example

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider

Even amongst the best of best geniuses

http://www.metrication.us/content/nasa- ... rial-units

The Universal Law of Unintended Consequences always applies when you are trying to make meer human beings do something new.

Consequences like turning a 767 into a glider.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider

The problem for us is simple,

how long is 15.24 Centimeters? picture it in your mind, now put your hands out in front of you with the space of 15.24 Centimeters, Are you happy with it,

Now how long is 6"?

See, now you understand the problem.

Yes base 10 is easier then base 12 but its meaningless if you can't picture it in your mind, its just a number with no value.

We can all picture in our mind 6" but have no clue that 15.24 centimeters is the same measurement.

River

At first I didn't want to participate in this thread....

But now I remembered one more thing: circuit boards and chips

On all Russian chips, their pins are set on multiples of metric grid: 2.5mm

On foreign - it is 1/10 inch = 2.54mm. Now comes interesting thing - some breadboards here come with metric grid, and some - with inch. No visible difference, but choose wrong, and for bigger chips, well, you can not put them in without curses, and something heavy . Got caught on that more then once.