Inches or mm

[b_force]

It's actually remarkable funny that the ratio of the votes is not so far off from the map image/real number. 

[nctnico]

Thing I wonder the most is why here in Poland and some neighboring countries (Czech Republic,  Slovakia etc) most plumbing dimensions are in inches (eg a common size for the pipe that connects toilet reservoir to the water supply is 1/2 or 3/8 of an inch)

In the EU water piping is a hit&miss. It basically comes down to every country having it's own 'standard' sizes.

[meeder]

Waterpipes are metric here in the Netherlands.

[IanB]

In the EU water piping is a hit&miss. It basically comes down to every country having it's own 'standard' sizes.

I do not think this is so (see below).

Waterpipes are metric here in the Netherlands.

Generally speaking, pipe sizes may be quoted in metric or traditional units, but either way it will be the same pipe. For example, a one inch nominal bore pipe may also be described in metric as a DN 25 mm pipe.

Such a pipe may have a variety of actual bore sizes and wall thicknesses according to the schedule (strength, or pressure rating of the pipe). There is an ISO standard for these sizes. For example, here is a table showing standard sizes in traditional and metric units:

http://dacapo.com/uploads/documents/35-document.pdf

Since pipes may be manufactured and shipped internationally, it would be very inconvenient if the sizes were not standardized.

[ivaylo]

Thing I wonder the most is why here in Poland and some neighboring countries (Czech Republic,  Slovakia etc) most plumbing dimensions are in inches (eg a common size for the pipe that connects toilet reservoir to the water supply is 1/2 or 3/8 of an inch)

In the EU water piping is a hit&miss. It basically comes down to every country having it's own 'standard' sizes.

Yes, and some places still using the obsolete German Zoll measure - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsolete_German_units_of_measurement, which seems to be an inch, but with a few alternate definitions.

[Ian.M]

Metric and imperial copper water pipe are *NOT* compatible.  You need adapters to reliably couple one to the other using compression fittings.  See http://www.wosupply.com/pdf/1_General_Products_82511_115.pdf

Its normally close enough to bodge for low pressure work by swaging or expanding the pipe end when using solder fittings without solder preforms.

[TimFox]

Let us not forget the standard tripod-mount screw thread for cameras, as found in several camera manuals:  M6.3  (otherwise known as 1/4-20 UNC).

[nctnico]

In the EU water piping is a hit&miss. It basically comes down to every country having it's own 'standard' sizes.

I do not think this is so (see below).

Waterpipes are metric here in the Netherlands.

Since pipes may be manufactured and shipped internationally, it would be very inconvenient if the sizes were not standardized.

You may wish but you can find various sizes of copper tubing in the EU for tap water: 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 20 and 22mm. And that is just copper tubing!

[Monkeh]

In the UK you'll typically find 15, 22, 28, 35..

We'll not speak of microbore.

[nctnico]

I always specify PCB plating thickness in um (micro-meters).

[VK5RC]

+1 blueskull,  metric is great for accuracy,  imperial great for rough measures eg "6 foot high"  and lathe work! Whitworth understood that well

[VK3DRB]

The three remaining countries who still use ye olde imperial system are the three amigos: The USA, Liberia and the Myanmar. Maybe they should form a new trading bloc, called the blocheads . 

There is no reason why anyone should still be laying out PCB's using imperial measurements, except as an excuse for being mentally challenged maybe.

[m98]

2. For non Americans, don't you use imperial units occasionally? Don't you use oz/sqft to specify PCB copper thickness? In power module industry, baseplate thickness is almost always in mil.

So why would you specify thickness via area density? This might make sense for people searching some mental calculation challenges throughout the day...
I use µm for that. But I do actually use imperial units quite frequently, as I'm forced to use them in aviation. Well, I do understand that switching measuring systems here is, unfortunately, a bit impractical.

[digsys]

The three remaining countries who still use ye olde imperial system are the three amigos: The USA, Liberia and the Myanmar. Maybe they should form a new trading bloc, called the blocheads
There is no reason why anyone should still be laying out PCB's using imperial measurements, except as an excuse for being mentally challenged maybe.

That's uncalled for. At least try to be civil.

[boffin]

The three remaining countries who still use ye olde imperial system are the three amigos: The USA, Liberia and the Myanmar. Maybe they should form a new trading bloc, called the blocheads . 

There is no reason why anyone should still be laying out PCB's using imperial measurements, except as an excuse for being mentally challenged maybe.

Actually Myanmar is switching to Metric, there will only be two left.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar_units_of_measurement#Adoption_of_SI_.28Metric.29_System

Here in Canada we have an interesting dilemma. So much of our commerce and systems are with the USA, that lots of imperial things remain, especially in industries like construction. 
Pipe is still in inches (fractional inches)
Machine Screws are typically UNC (#8/32, #10/32, etc)
Houses are still built on 16" centres between studs.
Some things are even uniquely Canadian, like a most wood screws have a Robertson head.
but my favourite example is seeing plywood advertised in the store as:  4 foot by 8 foot by 19 mm

I'd love to see everything go Metric, but it's hard when there's so much out there that is imperial.  How big are the tires on your car  205/60 R15.  The 205 is mm , the R15 is inches.  Now that's screwed up.

And don't even get me going about aviation where you have feet (altitude), metres(altitude in some places, visibility in some places), statute miles (visibility), nautical miles/hr (wind speed), degrees true (some wind direction), degrees magnetic (wind  direction at airports, runways), pounds (weight of fuel), litres (what you buy your fuel in), gallons per hour (what you consume your fuel as) and so on... 

It's amazing there aren't more accidents like Air Canada 143 where they loaded a plane with lbs instead of kgs of fuel.

[zapta]

It's amazing there aren't more accidents like Air Canada 143 where they loaded a plane with lbs instead of kgs of fuel.

That's an amazing story. 0 fatalities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider

[Back2Volts]

I grew up with metric and used it for half of my life until I moved to the US.   Today I am used to inches and feet, which I use regularly for most everything except when dealing with small measurements, where I may go to millimeters.   

The imperial system is clearly superior!   See you guys in a while, I am going for lunch to have a 0.257 BTU veggie sandwich and a 0.05 BTU diet soda   

 

[Homer J Simpson]

https://youtu.be/LdnmNLDvZFo

[boffin]

It's amazing there aren't more accidents like Air Canada 143 where they loaded a plane with lbs instead of kgs of fuel.

That's an amazing story. 0 fatalities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider

Oh, and AC drove from their maint base in Winnipeg out to Gimli to fix the plane, and the maintenance guys ran out of gas on the way. 
C-GAUN went on to another 20ish years of service with AC, after relatively minor repairs.

Canadians seem uniquely qualified at the task of landing widebody aircraft with zero fuel,  see Air Transat 236: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Transat_Flight_236 (which is even more amazing than ACA143)

[R005T3r]

According to wikipedia, the 94% of the world population uses mm instead of inches... However, what system is used in Antarctica? 

[Cerebus]

According to wikipedia, the 94% of the world population uses mm instead of inches... However, what system is used in Antarctica?

By the minority population - SI units, as all the people on Antarctica are scientists. By the majority? Penguins, so probably fish based units.

[thunderbuny]

3 eights? 2 quarters!???
that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to complialienated! 
metric much better!
and not complialienated! 

[zapta]

If I remember correct:
An old thread about metric vs. imperial system already exists anywhere in this forum. 

"der Narzissmus der kleinen Differenzen"

[netdudeuk]

Both.  If something looked to be an inch long I'd say 'inch' (not 25.4 mm) and if it looked two mm long I'd say 'two mm' (not twelfth of an inch). Etc ...

[ebclr]

I would suggest that make a GDP adjustment on the results of this research mm/inches

On this way i guess more money is using inches than mm