All good, except (to be pedantic), the gram is the basic weight of mass, not weight. Of course, we assume they're the same, since they kind of are, on earth anyway, but someone who masses 100 kilos on earth will still mass 100 kilos in space, but of course will be weightless. Or as near weightless as to not matter much. Of course, this doesn't matter in any practical sense.

BTW, I'm a proponent of picking an arbitrary date and saying that on this arbitrary date, we'll all switch to metric. This gradual switchover clearly isn't working. And to all the people who say they "can't deal with metric", of course they can. It becomes second nature after a while when it's the only available system of measurement. Eventually, you really do stop doing conversions in your head and just know that 25 degrees is pretty comfortable, while 38 degrees is bloody freakin hot, or that 80 KPH is pretty fast but not awfully fast, and you know without knowing that it's about 1.6 KM to the mile more or less, or that temps are, well, anyway, you get the idea. It's just that you don't have to think in metric, so believe it is impossible for you. Of course, my arbitrary switchover date will never happen, and we will continue to be bass awkward from the whole rest of the world.
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY



On Dec 28, 2011, at 12:09 PM, Howard Kaufman wrote:

> Let's see.
> I am going back to high school in my memory.
> 
> The metric system is a decimal system, rather like our money system.
> The basic units are
> Measurement of distance, the meter.
> The measure of weight the gram,
> The measurement of volume the leader.
> I think that distilled water with a density of 1 means that a leader of 
> water weighs 1 kilogram, but am not sure about that.
> 
> Most of the civilized world uses the metric system.  Therefore we in the 
> United States have to convert from metric to the old English system, which 
> the English do not use any more.  G-D knows how much this nonconformity 
> costs us every year.
> 
> A meter is just over a yard in length,  I think 39.1 inches.  making a 
> centimeter about .391 inches in length.
> The system was based on the diameter of the earth at the equator, which is 
> 10,000 kilometers.  I think that's right.
> 
> a Kilogram is about 2.2 pounds.  I have no idea how this compares to weight 
> in stone.
> 
> 28 grams of water equals an ounce.
> 
> The system was to calculate temperature in centigrade, with 100 increments 
> between the freezing and boiling point of pure water as measured at sea 
> level.
> 
> So if we were using the metric system, a half wave dipole, would be 20 
> meters in length, or 10 meters either side of the center feed point.  Since 
> a yard is less than a meter in length, and that difference is multiplied for 
> every meter, a formula to convert the length is necessary.
> So frequency in mhz, divided in to 468 gives you the total length of a half 
> wave dipole.
> at 7 mhz, 7 in to 46 is 6 with a remainder of 4.  7 in to 48 is 6 with a 
> remainder of 6.
> 7 in to 60 is 8 with a remainder of 4.
> This gives a figure of 66.8 total length, or 33.4 feet per side.  Since 
> their are 12 not 10 inches to a foot, this comes out to 33 and 4 tenths of a 
> foot, about 33 feet 5 inches.
> actually I think it's 33 feet 4.8 inches.  Close enough for government at 
> this frequency, but if you were working at 900 mhz frequencies, quite 
> critical.
> Others who know better can rip this little story to shreds.