Re: SI Units

["Fritz A. Seiler" <faseiler@nmia.com>]

Bob Giansiracusa wrote:

> This whole argument about units reminds me of a saying in the theoretical
> physics community:
> Old theories never die, they just fade away one funeral at a time.
>

Hi All,

The saying you quote, Bob, is a variation of a rather pithy statement
by Max Planck who was a bit more direct, refering to some physicists
and the change of paradigm, such as Classical Mechanics to Quantum
Mechanics.  But then, I hope we are not all as mentally INFLEXIBLE
as implied by this quip..
As a way to convert to SI, I could suggest the German way (Sorry, but
I have forgotten the year); they just legislated it: "As of Jan. 1, 19xx, SI
units will be used."  And they did it!  No more calories etc. on food
package labels but kg, Joules, etc.
For you doomsayers: Germany did not fall catastrophically apart, nor
did any of their reactors or research laboratories have SI-unit-caused
accidents that I have heard of.
This whole SI discussion here gives me a strong sense of 'deja vu':
With the exception of the "Superpower-Bully" argument, I have heard
and read them all before, more than 25 years ago. C'mon, guys and gals!
Don't pick up your ball and go home!     :-))

Best whimsical -- or shoulpd I say, metricized -- wishes to all of us,  :-)

Fritz

***************************

Fritz A. Seiler, Ph.D.
Principal
Sigma Five Associates
P.O. Box 1709
Los Lunas, NM 87031
Tel.    505-866-5193
Fax.    505-866-5197
e-mail: faseiler@nmia.com

***************************


************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html