Technical – Metric Views

The Use of SI Units – Why a 60‑year‑old BSI publication still matters for Britain’s future

Britain has lived with a measurement muddle for generations—yet the solution has been sitting on our shelves since 1965. The Use of SI Units, published by the British Standards Institution, is one of the most quietly influential documents in UK technical history. Far from being a dusty relic, it offers a clear, practical, and forward‑looking blueprint for a fully metric Britain—one that engineers, teachers, policymakers, and ordinary citizens can still benefit from today.

What makes this publication remarkable is not just its technical clarity, but its vision: a UK where measurement is simple, coherent, and internationally aligned. Amid the decades=old debates for and against metrication, this BSI report deserves a fresh look. It shows how much we’ve already achieved—and how much further we can go.

Report on Going Metric: How? Why? When?

During the late 1960s and 1970s, British industry embarked on one of the most significant technical transitions in its modern history: the move from imperial to metric units. This shift—often described simply as “going metric”—was not a sudden revolution but a carefully staged programme of industrial modernisation. The materials reproduced in the “Going Metric: Industry is changing to the metric system of Weights & Measures. How? Why? When?” report, originally issued by the Ministry of Technology and the British Standards Institution, reveal a campaign that was both practical and persuasive. It aimed to explain the logic of metrication, prepare engineers and designers for new working methods, and reassure the public that the change would be orderly, beneficial, and internationally aligned.

What emerges from the report is a clear narrative: metrication was not merely a change in units, but a strategic response to globalisation, industrial efficiency, and the need for standardisation across sectors. This report synthesises that historical material to provide a coherent account of how industry was expected to change, why the change was considered essential, and when the transition was planned to occur.

Digital Measuring Devices (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this article, we saw that one of the basic methods by which a digital measuring device operated was the conversion of an analogue signal (often a voltage or an electric current) into a set of digital bits. The number of bits determined the precision with which the device could take a measurement. The article went on to describe the workings of a digital thermometer and how domestic-quality thermometers are often designed around the use of degrees Celsius with displays in degrees Fahrenheit being an add-on where the Fahrenheit display is calculated from the equivalent Celsius measurement.

In this article we will look at how digital weighing devices work.

Digital Measuring Devices (Part 1)

In this two-part series, Martin Vlietstra will be looking at how digitisation is applied to measuring devices: In Part 1, he will examine what “digitisation” is and explain how it is applied to thermometers. In Part 2, he will look at how it is applied to weighing devices.

Met Office website drops metric wind speeds

The new version of the Met Office’s weather forecasting website no longer has the option to show wind speeds in metric units. All wind speeds are now in mph-only. Previously, users could choose from a list of different units, including metres per second and km/h.

Continue reading “Met Office website drops metric wind speeds”

Why can I not record my cat’s weight as five pounds?

Recently, when surfing the internet, I came across some correspondence between a cat lover and a supplier of cat food. When the cat lover wished to order cat food the supplier’s web site required that he enter the cat’s weight in kilograms. However, he wished to enter the cat’s weight in pounds. He went on to say that he had measured his cat’s weight by first weighing himself (13 st 4 lbs, or 186 lbs) and then weighing himself while holding his cat. The rest of the article was devoted to correspondence between himself and the cat food company in which he voiced his preference for using pounds.

Do British road signs display symbols or abbreviations?

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, an abbreviation is defined as a “shortened form of a word in which part of the word is written” [rather than the whole word] while a symbol is defined as a “Mark or character taken as the conventional sign of some object or idea or process”. As a result, abbreviations are language-sensitive whereas symbols can be consistent across linguistic boundaries.

Report on Measure for Measure Conference

Martin Vlietstra attended the St Cross Centre for the History and Philosophy of Physics (HAPP) one-day conference in Oxford on Saturday 7 June 2025 and has written a report about the conference for Metric Views.

Happy 150th anniversary to the Metre Convention

Today is exactly 150 years since the Metre Convention was signed by 17 nations. This treaty established the use of the metric system internationally and created the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) and the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM), organizations with different roles, to co-ordinate international efforts to standardize measurements.

HAPP one-day conference on the history of measurement

The St Cross Centre for the History and Philosophy of Physics (HAPP) is holding a one-day conference on the history of measurement at the Mathematical Institute in Oxford on Saturday 7 June 2025 from 10.30 am – 5.00 pm BST. Participants can register to attend in person or online. Everyone is welcome to attend. Registration to attend this conference is free but booking is required to attend the conference in person or online.

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