TWO-ISH LINKAGE TO SOME TRADITIONAL/CUSTOMARY UNITS: There are several approximately "two-ish" relations: The planckian power unit (pony, ocmile of energy delivered per minute) is about half a horsepower. One tenth of a pace (1/10,000 mile) is about half a foot. One hundredth of a talent is about half a pound, since the talent mass unit is about 50 pounds.
"ENGLISH-BIAS": It has been pointed out that to some extent nature-based units have an English-traditional bias. These coincidences could either help people used to traditional units assimilate the modern planckian system, or conversely might sometimes cause confusion, since the planckian mile, though nearly equal to it, is not exactly equal to the customary mile, and the simple "half" relations mentioned here are only approximate, not exact ones.
REMARKS ON METRIC Metric is an old-fashioned system in which the main conversion factors (linking energy, temperature, frequency, wavelength, mass, gravitational attraction, voltage, and so on) are garbage: hard to remember and awkward to use. As an unsuccessful premature attempt to achieve decimality, it should be phased out in science teaching. Teachers should begin the transition to nature-based units by using humanscale planckian units at the college physics level. Natural laws are easier to assimilate in practice when the constants governing them are powers of ten.
The ugly metric values of the constants, given here in parens, contrast
with their round number values in talent-mile-minute terms:
c = exactly 107 mile a minute (metric 299792458)
hbar = exactly 10-40 ocmile minute (metric
1.054571...10-34)
mole = exactly 1023 items (metric 6.02214...
1023)
electron charge = exactly 10-23 charge units (metric
1.602176...10-19)
eevee = exactly 10-23 ocquemile (metric
1.602176...10-19)
Boltzmann k = exactly 1/100 eevee per grade (metric
8.617342...10-5)
= exactly 10-25 ocmile per grade (metric
1.38065...10-23)
G = 1.00 × 10-15 cub.mile/sq.minute per talent
(metric 6.673...10-11)
The clean decimal values for the same basic constants are shown here with
the metric numbers erased:
c = exactly 107 mile a minute
hbar = exactly 10-40 ocmile minute
mole = exactly 1023 items
electron charge = exactly 10-23 units
eevee = exactly 10-23 ocmile
k = exactly 1/100 eevee per grade
= exactly 10-25 ocmile per grade
G = 1.00 × 10-15 cub.mile/sq.minute per talent
The US gov NIST fundamental physical constants site has an 8x8 table called
CODATA Energy Equivalents 1998. Here is part of one column to give an idea.
1 kg=1.35639277..E50 Hz
1 joule=1.50919050..E33 Hz
1 kelvin=2.0836644..E10 Hz
1 eV=2.417989491..E14 Hz.
These are some of the messy-as-usual METRIC conversions among energy, mass,
voltage, temperature, cyclic frequency. The CORRESPONDING TM FACTORS ARE CLEAN
AND EXACT. Angular frequencies ('per minute') are used consistently.
1 talent=E54 per minute
1 ocmile=E40 per minute
1 grade=E15 per minute
1 eevee=E17 per minute
The internal metric mess is useful to us both as an example of the crud that
has accumulated in the antique metric system and as a quick source of
TM-to-metric conversion factors whenever needed. Neglecting powers of ten, here
are some other numbers quoted directly from a row of the NIST table:
1 Hz=6.62606876... joule
1 Hz=7.37249578... kilogram
1 Hz=4.7992374... kelvin
1 Hz=4.13566727... eV
1 Hz=4.439821637...amu
To find what a talent is in kilo, just divide 7.37249578 by 2pi and 54 and
adjust the decimal point-----you get
talent=21.729058...kilogram.
And although amu is not actually a *metric* unit we can find what a talent is
in amu the same way, just divide 4.439821637... by 2pi and 54, adjust decimal
point and you get 13.0855474...
talent=13.085547... x E27 amu.
This is why in TM you may see approximations being used such as:
1 amu=1/13 x E-27 talent
1 amu=1/13 x E-13 ocmile
1 amu=1/13 x E10 eevee
To find grade, the TM temp step, in terms of kelvin, just do the same thing,
divide 4.7992374 by 2pi and 54 and adjust the decimal point. This gives:
grade=141.44858...kelvin.
The mess is in the internal metric conversion factors, and aside from using the
metric speed of light all we have to do to get TM-to-metric conversion factors
is divide their stuff by 2 pi and 54.
ONGOING REDEFINITION OF METRIC UNITS (exerpted from several message boards)
> Two of the world's top metrologists recently proposed to redefine the
metric system (to
> cure various troubles it has and get rid of
> dependence on the metal kilo) by making hbar
> exactly (1/2pi)6.62606878 x 10^-34 kilogram
> sq.meter/second.
> P Mohr and B Taylor, IEEE Transactions on
> Instrumentation and Measurement, April 2001.
> This is analogous to the 1983 redef of meter
> to make c exactly 299792458 meters per
> second. The same people (the world's ranking
> metrologists, CODATA etc.) were responsible
> then.
> Something like the following set of metric definitions is emerging:
> second----defined by atomic clock, approx. 1/86400 of day
> meter----exactly 1/299792458 of lightsecond
> kilogram----exactly 2pi/662606878 x 10^42 hbar second/sq.meter
> The proposed planckian system does the same
> thing with nicer numbers:
> minute----54 atomic clock seconds, approx. 1/1600 day
> mile-----exactly 10^-7 of lightminute
> talent----exactly 10^40 hbar minute/sq.mile
> The Mohr Taylor proposal has not yet been
> offically adopted although a Resolution 7
> preparing the way was passed in 1999 by the
> General Conference on Weights and Measures,
> the official SI governing body.