Metric vs Imperial poll

-gee, Apex, we're just kidding around here ...

-by George, he's got it!

-don't worry, they go back a long way, I'm sure they use good old degrees, minutes and seconds, invented in way back in Babylon, for the Trident guidance system. Wouldn't want any of them newfangled systems!

 

hear, hear... and I did´nt "fathom that out" ?

 

sounds like the Titanic to me

 

You are overdoing it now. How can one sing in metres...? I'd love to hear you doing that. Audio post please.

 

No audio, but this may help Just scroll down the page a bit and you will find a song that you know. Imagine I'm singing it for you. No, better not

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

 

Thanks!
and then there was "lovely Rita, meter maid............" you remember?

 

I don't recall the Titannic's sail area, but it seems awfully short for its speed.

 

I recall the area she sailed! Does that help?

 

Who measured the nautical mile in the first place. Since it's on water do you measure it over the suface of the water... and how about if there are waves - or is that why it is 1852m...

Also, if measured from the beach, exactly where does the nautical mile starts ? Seems to me the water edge position changes all the time, or does all the nautical miles from here to over there shifts in and out with the water edge

How about if there are waves from two beaches facing (it is possible you know) each other. does the distance change all the time ? How about if the waves are out of sink and they go in oposite directions.

If you think the 5 meter a wave can rinse out on the sand is not much, just try to miss a tanker by 5 meter short.

 

Fanie,
The nautical mile is a relativistic measure of distance. It is equal to 1852 m in good sailing conditions on a sunny day. The nautical mile becomes longer in direct proportion to the probability of impending bad weather. It also increases inversely with the mean velocity of a calm breeze, approaching infinity at Beaufort 0.

 

Hi Matt,

What happens if it not sunny You find yourself sailing there but elsewhere ?

I agree with this. Especially with a strong head wind when you're low on fuel and cannot use the sails then that nm seems to stretch out into infinity

What is beyond infinity ? Another infinity ? Where does it stop and what is the metric for infinities. May sound rediculous but last time the wife was PO with me she said she is never (into many infinities) going to talk to me again. She didn't lie. She only shouts at me now

 

This:

 

Yeah right

 

The choice of songs is shocking...

By the way, there was someone who complained that metre is barely 200 years old. Bloody imperialist ignorant... Metre as a measure has been officially (as in recognised and adopted - there were no standards back then) around since 1675. And under the name of "metre catollico"...Of all things, the christians promoted one good thing...

Antic greeks, and possibly even Egyptians, identified it when they calculated the earth's circumference. The word itself is greek word. So, it is really OLDER than that inadequate "imperialist" system. Mind you, imperialists,do not get to proud, russians used their own "imperial" measurement system, and their "vrsta" (like a mile) is bigger than english.

Rasputin had something to do with it, women of that era are believed to have said...

 

I'm with Godzilla on this - size does count.