Metric system inquiry

[Michael Gibbons]

When other countries adopted the metric system, why didn't they change the number of hours in a day or the days in a year or money designations?

[Mitchell Andrus]

Geee-- dunno 'bout the money, but the hours thing might have somthin to do with all of those lines running North/South on the globe. 24 last I looked.

OR, maybe because of that song "Twenty-Four Little Hours".

[Chuck Wintle]

I don't think there is such a thing as "Metric Time", at least to my knowledge. As far as money is concerned most countries use currency with a base 10 so it did not need to be changed.

[Bob Rufener]

The metric system is used to measure weight, volume, and linear length. It really has noting to do with measure of time. Most monetary systems use the decimal system. Even England changed their non decimal system of currency back in the 60's or 70's.

The metric system makes a lot of sense. There is a relationship between the different units of measurement. For example, 1 cubic centimeter of water is the same as 1 milliliter of water and has a weight of 1 gram.

I have no clue as to the comparative volume between a cubic inch of liquid vs a quart and I have no idea how much it weighs.

[Tom Jones III]

During the French revolution they went through a sort of metric mania and converted everything they could think of to a more "rational" system. The only problem was that it was not always more rational. They tinkered with units of time as well to make a metric style calendar but everyone hated it. They briefly did the same for the layout of their provinces.

[Ian Abraham]

NZ changed from 'Imperial' measurements ( feet and pounds ) to metric in the 60s, and also changed currency from Pounds, shillings & pence around the same time. We are now in dollars and cents ( Metric money I guess).

I dont think there is any workable metric time system

Most rulers here still have feet and inches on one side and metric on the other, and we still call a 100x50 board a 4x2

But Metric is so much easier to work with.

Cheers

Ian

[Steve Schoene]

In the US there have been attempts to convert to metric but only partially successful as the is increasing use of metric based components on imported products or products also being manufacturered for export. This is market driven, not a regulatory thing.

What I do find particularly interesting is that you cling to 4x2 lumber, while here it is always the reverse: 2x4 (which of course is really 1 1/2 by 3 1/2, which would translate to 38.1 mm by 88.9 mm to be overly precise.) Do you guys have the same "shrinkage" between nominal sizes and actual? Just curious. Thanks.

[Cecil Arnold]

Remember, before Julius and Augustus Cesar there were 10 months, and we gain and lose an hour when we switch to DST, so why not a 20 hour day and 10 month year? (I know it would have to be half 36 and half 37 day months)

[Steve Schoene]

For a while the French adopted Paris for the location of the prime meridian--but England ruled the waves, and the 0° line of longitude runs through Greenwich. Of course, the nautical mile is based on the degree, minute, seconds measure of the earth angles. A mile's a minute the world around, so that one minute (measured on the latitude scale running north-south) is equal for all practical purposes to one nautical mile.

There is a woodworking tie-in to all this. Systems of proportions were, in the 18th and 19th century were measured against one modulus (a degree), which was then broken into minutes(60 parts) and seconds(60 parts of the minute) to lay out the form. See Chippendale's classical column orders which formed a basis for many proportions in the furniture of his era.