Quote from: zenrat on October 29, 2023, 04:41:31 AMThe irony being the Untied States is now the only country still using "imperial" measurements.

We're slowly getting there.  Of course, we would have adopted the metric system not long after our founding...except for pirates

Who says we've gone all Metric in the UK anyway?

We still drive 'miles' and 'miles per hour' etc. and i can't see that changing.

Quote from: PR19_Kit on October 29, 2023, 06:36:23 AMWho says we've gone all Metric in the UK anyway?

We still drive 'miles' and 'miles per hour' etc. and i can't see that changing.

True. I think here in the UK we've accepted that you can't force people (mainly the older generation) to change from a system they've used for a lot of their lives to a completely new one, even if it is more logical. Especially when a lot of so called measurements are more to do with perception and visualisation when it comes to every day conversation. Imperial will just gradually fade away as the generations that use it do.

For once we've been pragmatic about something 

Love the rose tinted glasses, still no answer to the earlier question about 1/35 to which I would add how did 1/600 happen?

Gondor

And then there's box scale, and model railroad scales.

Quote from: Gondor on October 29, 2023, 08:25:21 AMLove the rose tinted glasses, still no answer to the earlier question about 1/35 to which I would add how did 1/600 happen?

Gondor

As for 1/35th?  According to Shunsaku Tamiya, as quoted in wiki, from his book:

QuoteAfter the success of the Panther, I thought it would be a good idea for us to produce other tanks from different countries in the same scale. I measured the Panther and it turned out to be about 1/35 of the size of the original. This size had been chosen simply because it would accommodate a couple of B-type batteries. Tamiya's 1/35 series tanks eventually got to be known around the world, but this is the slightly haphazard origin of their rather awkward scale.

1/600, again according to Wiki (and further reading):

QuotePopular for ships, especially liners and capital ships. This is the traditional scale for comparative drawings of ships, used by the Royal Navy as it is about one-tenth of a nautical mile to the foot.

 

Quote from: scooter on October 29, 2023, 11:36:27 AM1/600, again according to Wiki (and further reading):

QuotePopular for ships, especially liners and capital ships. This is the traditional scale for comparative drawings of ships, used by the Royal Navy as it is about one-tenth of a nautical mile to the foot.

It's notable that the 'normal' scale for die cast warships, cargo ships and liners etc. is exactly half that, as 1/1200.

Quote from: Gondor on October 29, 2023, 08:25:21 AM... to which I would add how did 1/600 happen?

I don't know, precisely, but 1/600 converts to 1"=50', just as 1/1200 converts to 1"=100'. Quick & easy conversions for scaling down very large things, like ships.

Part of why I was asking is because I have been working on a 1/600 ship using 1/192 scale drawings. Not too difficult to convert as I use 1/8th of an inch = 1mm or roughly 2' in 1/600 

Gondor

Quote from: NARSES2 on October 29, 2023, 06:52:34 AM...you can't force people (mainly the older generation) to change from a system they've used for a lot of their lives to a completely new one...

Yes you can.  Australia did just that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_Australia

They'll start talking about making us drive on the right at this rate.

NO WAY!

Quote from: PR19_Kit on October 30, 2023, 04:38:25 AMThey'll start talking about making us drive on the right at this rate.

NO WAY!

And your scones will be called biscuits, your biscuits will be called cookies, your chips fries, and crisps chips.

Quote from: zenrat on October 30, 2023, 03:58:03 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on October 29, 2023, 06:52:34 AM...you can't force people (mainly the older generation) to change from a system they've used for a lot of their lives to a completely new one...

Yes you can.  Australia did just that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_Australia

Interesting read. I can think of reasons why it was successful "down under", but none of them are very scientific so I'll keep them to myself, as if I'm honest they're nothing more than opinions.

Another factor is using mixed systems is that each system has a strong suite.

Metric is obviously essential for anything requiring computing that works in base 10 because the underlying architechture is binary, expressed in 1s and 0s.

Imperial, on the other hand, is better for mental arithmetic since it used numbers like 12 and 16 that have a lot of factors, so for instance, you can dvide 12 units of something into two halves, three thirds, four quarters or six sixths, all without splitting a unit and getting into either vulgar fractions or decimal points. Also, although it's not a big thing in everyday life, vulgar fractions are a more precise expression of some values than any amount of numbers after the decimal point. For instance, Pi is _exactly_ 22/7, but only ever _approximately_ 3.14159 etc, even if you go to a billion digits.

Quote from: Weaver on October 30, 2023, 06:50:22 AMAnother factor is using mixed systems is that each system has a strong suite.

Metric is obviously essential for anything requiring computing that works in base 10 because the underlying architechture is binary, expressed in 1s and 0s.

Imperial, on the other hand, is better for mental arithmetic since it used numbers like 12 and 16 that have a lot of factors, so for instance, you can dvide 12 units of something into two halves, three thirds, four quarters or six sixths, all without splitting a unit and getting into either vulgar fractions or decimal points. Also, although it's not a big thing in everyday life, vulgar fractions are a more precise expression of some values than any amount of numbers after the decimal point. For instance, Pi is _exactly_ 22/7, but only ever _approximately_ 3.14159 etc, even if you go to a billion digits.

Quote from: Weaver on October 30, 2023, 06:50:22 AMAnother factor is using mixed systems is that each system has a strong suite.

Metric is obviously essential for anything requiring computing that works in base 10 because the underlying architechture is binary, expressed in 1s and 0s.

Imperial, on the other hand, is better for mental arithmetic since it used numbers like 12 and 16 that have a lot of factors, so for instance, you can dvide 12 units of something into two halves, three thirds, four quarters or six sixths, all without splitting a unit and getting into either vulgar fractions or decimal points. Also, although it's not a big thing in everyday life, vulgar fractions are a more precise expression of some values than any amount of numbers after the decimal point. For instance, Pi is _exactly_ 22/7, but only ever _approximately_ 3.14159 etc, even if you go to a billion digits.

Quote from: Weaver on October 30, 2023, 06:50:22 AMAnother factor is using mixed systems is that each system has a strong suite.

Metric is obviously essential for anything requiring computing that works in base 10 because the underlying architechture is binary, expressed in 1s and 0s.

Imperial, on the other hand, is better for mental arithmetic since it used numbers like 12 and 16 that have a lot of factors, so for instance, you can dvide 12 units of something into two halves, three thirds, four quarters or six sixths, all without splitting a unit and getting into either vulgar fractions or decimal points. Also, although it's not a big thing in everyday life, vulgar fractions are a more precise expression of some values than any amount of numbers after the decimal point. For instance, Pi is _exactly_ 22/7, but only ever _approximately_ 3.14159 etc, even if you go to a billion digits.

I often wonder when watching science channels on YouTube about real physics and the like, why not use 22/7 rather than 3.14159 etc as I am sure that some of the equations would be easier to work with if Pi was expressed that way.

Gondor

I do use 22/7 if I'm calculating anything circular, it saves a lot of time and finger bashing.

But then I was taught that in the 50s, so I guess it's ingrained now.