Warp wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aoldotcom> wrote:
>> On 08/07/2010 5:07 PM, Darren New wrote:
>>> What's the metric unit of pressure like this, out of curiousity?
>>>
> 
>>   1 psi equals 6,895 Pascals or N/m^2
> 
>   Isn't it confusing that "pound" is both a unit of mass and of force?

I believe that "stone" is actually the unit of weight. But given that the 
word was likely created before people understood there's a difference, and 
given that "pounds" is always the same force in Earth's gravity field, and 
given that it doesn't really get used in the scientific field where you wind 
up in situations where mass and force are actually important to distinguish, 
... no, I don't think so.

So when the instruction book for your car tells you how much pressure to put 
in your tires, do they really say "put 206,000 newtons of pressure in your 
tires"?

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
    C# - a language whose greatest drawback
    is that its best implementation comes
    from a company that doesn't hate Microsoft.

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