4 ms·
> Metrication process in US is really way too slow. I've thought that too, but wonder about what metrification would mean for things like screw thread pitch (w
by mschaef 6y ago
> Metrication process in US is really way too slow.
I've thought that too, but wonder about what metrification would mean for things like screw thread pitch (which is measured in TPI, and I assume would change if the units changed).
- caf 6y agoIn Australia, where metrication is 50 years old, hardware stores typically stock both imperial and metric fasteners. It's not an issue in practice.
- kstenerud 6y agoSame in Canada. My parents weren't very adept at metric, my generation could handle either one, and the following generations don't know much about imperial other than the few things still stubbornly hanging on (mostly in construction).
- rfrey 6y agoConstruction is the one place where imperial measurements are superior, because they're base 12. Easy division of any measurement into thirds, quarters, half.
- kstenerud 6y agoPerhaps, but it's not enough of an advantage to keep the rest of the planet from using metric in construction. Generally you don't need more than 2-3 decimal places at whatever scale you're working at.
- HPsquared 6y agoFor that kind of thing, one can just use multiples of 12 (or whichever number) for measurements. It's common to do things in multiples of 25 mm or 300 mm (i.e. roughly inches or feet, but metric).
- mschaef 6y agoThanks... I can at least partially relate to that already. US toolkits (wrench/spanner, sockets, and the like) have conventionally included both metric and imperial tools for at least 30-40 years already. (I find myself about evenly using both.)
- adrianmonk 6y agoThey already do that in the United States as well, too. so there would be literally no change. Like you, I'm also not seeing how that could be an obstacle.
- phyzome 6y agoIt doesn't matter. Screw thread pitch isn't a continuous unit in practice, but a category. Might as well call it A, B, C, D.
- rfrey 6y agoI often identify a screw or bolt with a scale. I guess if you know that 16 TPI = "D", then you're ok... but in the same place as now.