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Date:      Thu, 16 Mar 2000 23:48:31 +0000
From:      Mark Ovens <mark@ukug.uk.freebsd.org>
To:        Brett Taylor <brett@peloton.runet.edu>
Cc:        Paul Richards <paul@originative.co.uk>, chat@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Useful Metric Conversions
Message-ID:  <20000316234831.D248@parish>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.10.10003161718160.58779-100000@peloton.runet.edu>; from brett@peloton.runet.edu on Thu, Mar 16, 2000 at 05:20:43PM -0500
References:  <20000316215216.A248@parish> <Pine.BSF.4.10.10003161718160.58779-100000@peloton.runet.edu>

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On Thu, Mar 16, 2000 at 05:20:43PM -0500, Brett Taylor wrote:
> Hi Mark,
> 
> On Thu, 16 Mar 2000, Mark Ovens wrote:
> 
> > > > > >   453.6 graham crackers = 1 pound cake
> 
> > Yes, I knew that. What I don't know is what "graham crackers" are, or
> > is it just word-play on gram?
> 
> Graham crackers a type of cracker (I remember eating them as kids) - sort
> of "gingerbread" kind of flavor.  
> 

Just as I figured, it's a US food product.

> > Both the imperial and metric systems mix up mass and weight. I was
> > always explained to me that this is because the average non-technical
> > person can't understand the difference; buting 1kg of sugar is easy to
> > grasp, but 9.81 Newtons?
> 
> And yet buying 1 pound of sugar is fine, but not 1 slug (reversed roles).  
> 
> I'll stick w/ mass - at least I'll buy the same amount on each planet or
> in an accelerating frame.  :-)
> 

Which of course you, as a physicist, and me, as an engineer,
understand, but does your granny understand it when she's buying
potatoes at the supermarket? This is why the distinction between
weight and mass is ignored in the "real" world.

The old story about the merchant buying diamonds at the equator and
selling the in London at a profit because they weighed more (although
they still had the same mass) was used as an example of the difference
when I was at school (mind you, we still had chalk and slates in those
days :))

> Brett
> *****************************************************
> Dr. Brett Taylor         brett@peloton.runet.edu    *
> Dept of Chem and Physics			    *
> Curie 39A	(540) 831-6147                      *
> Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics		    *
> Walker 234	(540) 831-5410			    *
> *****************************************************
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
	Microsoft: Where do you want to go today?
	Linux:     Where do you want to go tomorrow?
	BSD:       Are you guys coming, or what?
			              -Poster at LinuxWorld 2000
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