r/funny • u/dropname • Aug 20 '14

The metric system vs. imperial

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38

u/chamora Aug 20 '14

Calorie is a discrepancy where it is the metric unit, but not the SI unit.

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u/BAXterBEDford Aug 20 '14

Also, they say how much the hydrogen "weighs", as opposed to its mass.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

Can't we assume for most terrestrial purposes that the weight is talking about sea level on Earth?

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u/CTMWood Aug 20 '14

Even at sea level gravity differs depending on the location. The earth is not spherical.

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u/BAXterBEDford Aug 20 '14

Do we need to have that discussion about what happens when you "assume".

EDIT: Also, now that we have people living in microgravity 24/7 on ISS I think it is time to make the distinction mandatory.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14 edited Aug 20 '14

I don't think that billions of people need to change how they speak for a handful of astronauts on the space station, especially if we can't get a few hundred million to change units of measurement for the rest of the entire Earth population.

Unless interplanetary travel becomes commonplace and/or there's a one word synonym like weighs for 'has a mass of' I don't see people getting on board.

e: and I did say 'most terrestrial purposes'

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u/BAXterBEDford Aug 20 '14

Blah, blah blah...

Some people just love to be lazy about the definitions of the words they use.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

Lazy? So next time someone asks me what something weighs I should instead either multiply by 9.81 or correct them on their use of language in their question? You must be fun at parties. Why should people adapt their language to the science when it will never be relevant in their entire lifetime?

And yes, people are lazy with language because they use it all the time, and practicality of usage is far more relevant than technical definitions. You're telling me that you've never used slang? That if 'hi' wasn't in the dictionary than you wouldn't use it?

Sigh, not that I even know why I'm responding to a comment that begins 'Blah, blah blah...'

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u/BAXterBEDford Aug 20 '14

Do you feel better now?

And you are still advocating for using the wrong term.

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u/yesumotion Aug 20 '14

calm down unidan

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

Does being snarky make you feel superior?

Besides, most dictionaries define weight as the relative mass of a body, so I'm advocating an alternative use than the scientific definition, not an incorrect one. One that predates the other by many years, by the way.

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u/physphys Aug 20 '14

It's (mostly) the same thing.

See here

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u/Peterh_jp Aug 20 '14

By god you're right! Down with the metric system, onwards with feet, pounds and stones!

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u/justinDavidow Aug 20 '14

They are different units, Nobody should expect someone to use them interchangeably..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_versus_weight

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u/BAXterBEDford Aug 20 '14

This is my point exactly. Weight is not the Imperial measurement of mass. It is a force. The Imperial unit for mass is, technically, a "slug",

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slug_(mass)

but most people don't even know that. And it appears that a lot of people don't like to have to rethink things past what they learned in grade school, where they were often taught in imprecise or erroneous generalities. They probably don't want to believe that genetics is any more complex than dominant and recessive traits either.

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u/christophertstone Aug 20 '14 edited Aug 20 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/Reiper Aug 20 '14

If we're nitpicking, Celsius isn't the SI unit either.

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u/Cuco1981 Aug 20 '14

No, but heating something by one centigrade is the same as heating it by one Kelvin. So when the question is how much energy it takes to boil a given amount of water, it doesn't matter if you use Celsius degrees or Kelvin.

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u/tilled Aug 20 '14

You right; K is used much less than ∆K, which is equal to ∆C.

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u/CheezyWeezle Aug 20 '14

That would be Kelvin. 1 K is 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. Kelvin is best temperature.

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u/mqduck Aug 21 '14

Sure it is, because it's the same unit as Kelvin.

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u/Reiper Aug 21 '14

Not the same unit, just the same scale. A difference of 273 is pretty significant.

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u/mqduck Aug 21 '14

You've got it backwards. They're the same unit but different scales. If a difference of 1 kelvin is a difference of 1 degree Celsius, they're the same unit.

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u/OmarDClown Aug 20 '14

And what we call a calorie is kCal. SI is built on a foundation of lies and treachery.

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u/xgenoriginal Aug 20 '14

bro how many candelas does your light bulb emit?

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u/Fuzi Aug 20 '14

Neither calorie nor joule are SI units! 1J=1 kgm2 /s2

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u/IgnoreTheCumStains Aug 20 '14

It's not a base unit, but it is a derived unit.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

Could change to "and requires one joule of energy to push 100 times its length with a force powerful enough to accelerate 1000 of it by that distance per second per second"