Finally a replacement for SI units

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a humorous alternative system of units proposed for measurement, particularly focusing on unconventional units such as "kilobrontosauruses" and "sheepsecs." The conversation includes playful interpretations of measurements and the velocity of sheep in a vacuum, blending humor with speculative reasoning about the implications of these units.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants share humorous interpretations of measurements, such as the velocity of a sheep in a vacuum being expressed in "kilobrontosauruses per nanofortnight."
  • One participant proposes a theoretical calculation for the velocity of sheep in a vacuum, factoring in "wooldrag" and the presence of "Welshmen," suggesting that these variables significantly affect the outcome.
  • Another participant mentions a humorous standard unit of length defined as "EU standard (Florentine) linguine," with various conversions to other units, highlighting the absurdity of the proposed system.
  • Some participants express enjoyment and amusement at the creative and humorous nature of the discussion, indicating a light-hearted engagement with the topic.
  • A later reply references a website that translates common units into similarly whimsical alternatives, suggesting a playful approach to measurement.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the humorous nature of the proposed units and the creative calculations presented. However, there is no consensus on the validity or practicality of these alternative measurements, as the discussion remains playful and speculative.

Contextual Notes

The discussion relies heavily on humor and satire, with no serious application or established scientific basis for the proposed units. The calculations and definitions are presented in a whimsical context, and the assumptions underlying the humor are not formally addressed.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in humorous takes on measurement systems, creative scientific discussions, or those looking for light-hearted content related to physics and units of measurement may find this thread entertaining.

mgb_phys
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Finally after man(and woman)fully resisting the urge to go fully metric for 30years the UK's boffins have produced an alternative system of units, even more brilliant then the venerable Firkin/Fortnight/Furlong system.

The velocity of a sheep in a vacuum is 26.22 kilobrontosauruses per nanofortnigh

http://www.theregister.com/2007/08/24/vulture_central_standards/
I don't want to steal their copyright and post the text here.
 
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From my website: "Upon measuring directly a displacement of Planck length L*, the measurer would receive a momentum reaction equal to h/L*, or 4,000,000 gm-cm/sec, beyond the kick of a mule." Translate that into sheep terms.
 
mgb_phys said:
The velocity of a sheep in a vacuum is 26.22 kilobrontosauruses per nanofortnigh

http://www.theregister.com/2007/08/24/vulture_central_standards/
I don't want to steal their copyright and post the text here.
That was funny! Until I got to this:
And, indeed, just how big is Wales in cubic furlongs?
...that killed all the funny in me...for a few seconds.
 
Only from the folks who brought us "How many farthings in a florin?"
 
:smile: I'm just dying here! :smile: The whole section on velocity of sheep is hilarious! Especially the differences in velocity measured in sheepsecs depending on how many Welshmen were "worrying" the sheep. :smile:
 
That was great! :smile:
 
Hahaha!:smile:
 
How about using a digital stop watch with a dead battery? It works for me.

 
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Too funny! :smile:
Thanks, Mgb.
 
  • #10
This is worthy of another look.

Some favorites -

Length
The standard unit of length shall be the EU standard (Florentine) linguine (unboiled at sea level), defined as 1lg, representing 14cm, 0.02784 perches, 0.462 Japanese shyaku or 0.0007568 Ancient Greek stadium ptolemys

For greater than 1lg, the following should be used:

Double-decker bus = 65.85lg
Brontosaurus = 15 double-decker buses laid bumper-to-bumper
Length across known universe at shortest point = 136 trillion brontosauruses laid nose-to-tail

Velocity of sheep in a vacuum

The theoretical maximum velocity of a sheep in a vacuum is expressed in sheepsecs (Ssx), calculated as follows:

Speed of light (c) divided by wooldrag (Wd) + Welshmen (Wm), where wooldrag is a species-defined drag coefficient determined by the length and pliability of the fleece and Welshmen is the number of locals who have turned up in their wellies, and are hanging on for dear life.

Wooldrags have recently been calculated by researchers at CERN, and the latest experiments shed some light on the phenomenon, but it is still mysterious. The effect is similar to friction here on Earth, but is due to the interaction of the wool and fluctuations in the quantum vacuum. Researchers have applied to the EU for further funding, but it has been put on hold as a result of the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

For example, an unshorn Welsh Mountain Badger Face, with a wooldrag of 67, chased by three Welshmen will ultimately attain a Ssx of c/(67+3), or 4,282.74 km/sec.

Alternatively, a newly-clipped Finnish Landrace, with a wooldrag of 23, worried by just one Welshman has a theoretical Ssx of c/(23+1), or 12,491 km/sec.

Clearly, the difference in these two results means that a compromise standard is required. The El Reg Ssx uses the classic Cheviot as its sheep of choice, with a wooldrag of 50. Wm is in this case 0, since everyone knows that Welshmen do not in fact have intimate relations with sheep and any reference to the same is just a cheap attempt to drum up laughs.

The Vulture Central standard velocity for a sheep in a vacuum is, therefore, c/(50+0), or 5,995 km/sec.
 
  • #11
Haha, brilliant!

For anyone having trouble with these new measurements, go to http://sensibleunits.com/
It will translate most common units of mass, area, volume, length and data into sensible units, like elephants, Island of Gurnseys, phone boxes, Mont Blancs, and amounts of data transferred over the internet in the average second in 2006.
It's a life saver
 
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  • #12
Gokul43201 said:
That was funny! Until I got to this: ...that killed all the funny in me...for a few seconds.

They specify the depth of Wales.