Modular metric magic

OR A Tale of Over Forty Years of Dimensional Co-ordination in UK Kitchens

An article in the recent UKMA newsletter by the Editor on renovating his kitchen has prompted one of our regular contributors, John Frewen-Lord, to relate his own recent experiences doing the same thing, and how the use of metric units has saved enormous amounts of time and money in the process.

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An anniversary for the US Metric Conversion Act

The 1975 Metric Conversion Act (MCA) was signed into law by President Gerald Ford on December 23, 1975. To mark the 40th anniversary of this event, Ronnie Cohen looks at the introduction of the Act and its effect on metrication in the USA.

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The Worboys Committee Report revisited

Ronnie Cohen looks back at the 1963 Worboys Committee report and reviews how well the current version of the TSRGD addresses the main criticisms of the earlier traffic signs system and the Committee’s findings and recommendations. He suggests ways that current signage can be improved to meet the Worboys ideals.

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Geoffrey Howe, Lord Howe of Aberavon, 1926 to 2015

The editors of Metric Views note with great regret the death yesterday of Lord Howe.

Lord Howe was a Patron of the UK Metric Association from its foundation, and campaigned in Parliament for over a decade for the completion of the UK’s metric transition. An outline of his work to bring to an end the mixture of, as he said, “two confused, competing systems” of measurement will be the subject of a future Metric Views article.

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.

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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.

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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?

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