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Author Topic: The Measurement Thread  (Read 15139 times)

Virex

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #60 on: May 04, 2011, 06:01:20 am »

Another unit I like is the radian, since it is dimensionless. This means, that for certain online physics homework programs, you can multiply your units by radians to an insane number, and still get the correct answer!
You can do that on your exams anyway, because radians are mod 2*pi ;)
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PTTG??

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #61 on: May 04, 2011, 09:36:41 am »

Planck units are the best! No arbitrary geocentrism involved here!

"Yes, officer.  I can vaguely describe the man who attacked me.  He was 2.87 Milliard Yotta Planck Lengths in height, his irises were predominantly 470nm in hue and overall I'd say that he was around 57 thousand Yamu.  The only thing I remember from before the incident was him saying mumbling something at about 45dB about 'bloody scientists, overcomplicating things'."

One of these days I'm going to change by signature to this.
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Darvi

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #62 on: May 04, 2011, 10:20:03 am »

One of these days I'm going to change by signature to this.
Derp.
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USEC_OFFICER

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #63 on: May 04, 2011, 10:57:27 am »

The lem, one of which is worth 62.5 cm.

(Sure, it's a made up, arbitrary unit of measurement, but it's my made up, arbitrary unit of measurement.)

EDIT: I remembered that it's cm, not mm. Silly me, forgetting my own made up, arbitrary unit of measurement.
« Last Edit: May 04, 2011, 08:04:21 pm by USEC_OFFICER »
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Armok

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #64 on: May 04, 2011, 12:18:11 pm »

yea, Planc units are awesome, but a bit impractical.

Measuring things in proton masses, cesium-133 transitions or whatever they are called, and however far light travels in one of those. or maybe something with electron volts, or... Ok, there are loads of random things in that general area you can use.
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rhesusmacabre

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #65 on: May 04, 2011, 01:41:46 pm »

Cooking has some fantastic units: the pinch, the glug, the sprinkling, the dash, the knob, the dollop...
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RedKing

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #66 on: May 04, 2011, 02:04:02 pm »

And in Southern US cooking, the "mess of" and the "big ol' hunk".

As in, "You get yourself a mess of greens, and put a big ol' hunk of fatback in there and you got some good eating!"

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Myroc

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #67 on: May 04, 2011, 02:23:16 pm »

One of these days I'm going to change by signature to this.
I was considering this but I couldn't fit it in between Realmfighter being... Realmfighter and a hilariously out-of-context line about pants.

Also, I find most units of measurement equally badass, atleast the ones within physics. Might have to settle on either the Tesla or the Newton. Indecisiveness galore.
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Grek

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #68 on: May 04, 2011, 02:44:17 pm »

The chhd is an excellent unit. It's equal to about 2/3rds of a gallon. The hft is also pretty neat, being approximately the length of a blue whale.
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Leafsnail

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #69 on: May 04, 2011, 05:44:04 pm »

Measuring things in proton masses, cesium-133 transitions or whatever they are called, and however far light travels in one of those.
I have an interesting unit here which may fit these requirements:
Quote
the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.
It may be based on "seconds", but don't worry!  Seconds are actually
"the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom."

So basically... rather than shifting the unit to fit the definition, you shift the definition to fit the previously established unit :P.
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Zrk2

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #70 on: May 04, 2011, 08:29:23 pm »

The hide (a measure of area) it stinks, and it measures!
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Armok

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #71 on: May 05, 2011, 09:05:34 am »

 ...    299 792 458 ...
 ... 9 192 631 770 ...
There's a factor of about 10 that needs fixing before that become elegant leafsnail.
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chewie

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #72 on: May 05, 2011, 11:01:08 am »

Lightyear. Because of it's definition: "The distance light travels in a year".
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Leafsnail

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #73 on: May 05, 2011, 11:03:05 am »

There's a factor of about 10 that needs fixing before that become elegant leafsnail.
A factor of ten?  Sure, let's redefine a metre to be ten centimetres.

...Uh, in more seriousness, every power of ten you take out of the definition makes the unit a power of ten less practical in everyday circumstances.
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Armok

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Re: The Measurement Thread
« Reply #74 on: May 05, 2011, 11:36:52 am »

I said abaut 10, not exact right. Fine I'll calculate the exact number... 30.663318988
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