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[Baldrick]

  HM Government are contemplating a return to good old imperial measurements .   Just when we thought we had decimalisation sorted.  Good job I hung on to my old imperial scale rule.   


i

[dougal99]

As far as I'm concerned they never went away 

[raflaunches]

Never went away for me!
Tornado had a metric airframe but imperial propulsion.
Hercules all imperial with US oil capacity.
Aircraft in training- Jet Provost all imperial
Jaguar- metric
Harrier- all imperial if I remember correctly.
I got taught purely metric at school but had to learn imperial spanner’s, measurements, capacities, etc.
Weirdly I can only imagine my weight, height, and any distance in imperial! And of course a pint of beer

[Colin Bishop]

As model makers it is a bonus being able to work in both metric and imperial and mix and match as it gives more options. But for the populace at large and for younger people it would be silly to promote going back to imperial in areas where metric is now established.

It was reported today that two Government ministers said there are 14 ounces to the pound.....

The Government is floating this as a distraction from their lack of genuine policies.

Colin

[dougal99]

It was reported today that two Government ministers said there are 14 ounces to the pound.....

They must know my old greengrocer 

[barriew]

Like Nick although I am quite happy working in metric, I still think in Imperial.


I can't see industry agreeing to change. There is no benefit to them.


Barrie

[Mike S]

I am of an age, (mid-60's), when studying physics, (the science of measurement), at grammar school, we used both Metric and Imperial, and I can still effortlessly switch between the two, perhaps not good practice in building model boats, or DIY, or anything else, but hey-ho!




Mike

[Colin Bishop]

erhaps not good practice in building model boats, or DIY, or anything else, but hey-ho!

No problem whatsover when building model boats and in many ways an advantage.

Maybe not so elsewhere, one Mars probe was lost due to a mix up between imperial and metric dimennsions.

Colin

[Baldrick]

No problem whatsover when building model boats and in many ways an advantage.

Maybe not so elsewhere, one Mars probe was lost due to a mix up between imperial and metric dimennsions.

Colin

  If I remember correctly it was because we were working in metric and the Americans in imperial.

[Colin Bishop]

Nothing to do with the UK. NASA used metric and Lockheed Martin used Imperial.

Colin

[ballastanksian]

Silly nonsense. Many of us have tool collections with both types in for one reason or another, and in some cases have other measurement systems as well such as whitworth!


I use both but going back and forth between the two types as a political fads change is just confusing, and as mentioned above, an attempt to hide a lack of policies or common sense.

[Tug Fanatic]

I suspect that it will be well regarded in the Daily Express.
As for the rest of us 

[KitS]

They'll be wanting to ditch 100 pence in the pound and go back to pounds, shillings and pence next! 

[Tug Fanatic]

I am not really sure what they want to change. As I understand it the idea is to allow imperial units rather than to force them on us.


My local market has always priced in lbs with kg it in small numbers. They argue that their customers like it but I suspect it just makes their prices appear lower & some of their customers don't realise it.


Some things have always remained impetial. That 2440x1220  (8ft x 4ft) sheet of plywood is a good example.


Most of us are so used to metric I really don't see any commercial need to change. If they just want to change the marks on a beer glass I rally don't care.


Personally I don't like imperial but I hope this is just political noise to deflect criticism of a dishonest man and inflation rather than anything of substance.

[grendel]

i was lucky, at school in the 70's when the changeover happened, and working as a draughtsman in both units, I have always been able to readily convert from one to another, it still bemuses me why americans will convert a perfectly good metric measurement to the nearest imperial thousandth for machining, when a perfectly good metric micrometer will give them spot on accuracy every time, then ater they come 0.5 thousandths off on the measure, they then blame the metric system for the inaccuracy.

[Circlip]

Had to become numerically bi sexual when the 'Big' change in industry was thrust upon us thanks to Concord(e). Firm I worked at had been making textile machinery for nearly a hundred years using Luddite measurements and quite a few 'Hiccups' occurred even on new builds. Later when working in the electronics industry it was essential to use both systems as although PCBs were manufactured to metric dimensions for hole pitching for resistors and axial items, the refusal by our American masters to convert to metric pitch for ICs and Transistor pre forms made for some interesting co-ordinate generation sheets.
 Problems occur when slavishly trying to convert from one system to the other. 1" bar doesn't have to be reduced by 16 thou for a metric drawing providing corresponding items fit, but, what annoys is the insistence of using dressmaking measurements. Seems some can't easily count up to more than ten.


  Regards  Ian.   

[Perkasaman2]

What are the schools going to do? They have enough on their hands teaching base 10 to youngsters.