We have another thread that discusses this, and gives reasons why we Americans are reluctant to change. See https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/unit-conventions-si-versus-others.902547/enter said:America is mostly leading in science, especially in astronomy, yet they still use imperial units. (I am not talking about the great people doing the science.) Everyone else is using SI and the metric system however they insist on using miles, yards, pounds, feet, etc., and continue on being a stick-in-the-mud.
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Imperial units are a system of measurement that was historically used in the British Empire and currently used in the United Kingdom and some other countries. They include units of length, weight, and volume, such as inches, pounds, and gallons.
The main difference between Imperial and metric units is the base units used for measurement. Imperial units are based on historical units of measurement, whereas metric units are based on the International System of Units (SI). This results in different conversion factors between the two systems.
Imperial units are still used in some countries because they are deeply ingrained in their culture and history. Additionally, some industries, such as aviation and shipping, still use Imperial units due to their long-standing use in these fields.
In most cases, scientific research uses metric units due to their standardized and internationally accepted nature. However, some fields, such as astronomy and geology, may use Imperial units for historical reasons or when working with data from older studies.
Many countries have already switched to using metric units as their primary system of measurement. In the United Kingdom, there have been ongoing efforts to fully transition to metric units, but the process has been slow and met with resistance from some sectors of society.