As a consequence of the “very British mess” with measurement policy, the public has to put up with awkward, cluttered, hard-to-read dual measuring instruments. Various types are used every day. In this article, Ronnie Cohen describes several examples and comments on their impact on our daily lives.
Category: Consumer affairs
On the beach (in North London)
The onset of foggy mornings and dark evenings reminds us that winter is on its way. Ronnie Cohen has written an article that may just get us thinking of those lazy, hazy days of summer spent on a continental beach (metric measures taken for granted) or perhaps even on an urban beach alongside the North Circular Road in North London.
The 1972 White Paper Revisited
This week, Ronnie Cohen takes a look at the long-forgotten 1972 White Paper on Metrication.
Milk in a muddle
Recent reports of the difficulties facing Britain’s milk producers have prompted Ronnie Cohen to look into the muddle sorrounding retail packaging and pricing of all types of milk.
Memories of Geoffrey
For the last twelve years of his life Geoffrey Howe was patron of the UK Metric Association. Robin Paice, who was Chair of the Association for most of this time, remembers him.
The flip side of SI
Charlie P, a regular if occasionally critical contributor to MV, promised he would on his return from holiday give his thoughts on “the flip side of the SI as far as the average man in the street is concerned”. These now appear below. They are of course not endorsed by the Editors of MV, but may provide food for thought.
New breakthrough for the kilogram
In this article about new scientific developments to redefine the kilogram and remove its link to a physical object, Ronnie Cohen writes about recent reports about a new scientific breakthrough in getting the most accurate estimate of Avogadro’s constant to date, which can help to redefine the kilogram. These reports have been published in the last few weeks and you can find a list of sources at the bottom of this article.
A day at the National Museum of Measurement
The summer holidays are in full swing, so John Frewen-Lord provides us with some light reading for a lazy day, plus a reminder that it is back to school in a month. Now where are my sun glasses?
Continue reading “A day at the National Museum of Measurement”
Waterloo 1815 – what if?
We speculate on the consequences if there had been a different outcome at the Battle of Waterloo.
Una mensura sit per totum regnum nostrum
On Monday 15 June, the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta was celebrated in much of the English-speaking world. In this article we look at one of its less well-known clauses – that relating to weights and measures.
Metric Views 