Another English/Metric "Spacecraft" Problem

SuperDry writes "There's been another spacecraft failure that's been attributed to an English/Metric units problem, this time at Tokyo Disneyland's Space Mountain. An axle broke on a "spacecraft" (a.k.a. roller coaster train) mid-ride, causing it to derail (nobody was hurt). The final investigation report has been released, and the root cause has been determined to be a part being the wrong size due to a conversion of the master plans in 1995 from English units to Metric units. In 2002, new axles were mistakenly ordered using the pre-1995 English specifications instead of the current Metric specifications. Apparently size does matter, even if it's only a 0.86mm difference."

Comments

Re:The US needs to catch up

[RobertB-DC]

And it makes an infinite amount more sense to use Metric than the US system.

I disagree that there's an automatic advantage in using .1 - 1 - 10 vs. 1/2 - 1 - 12. There's the entire issue of what it's used for.

In these days of digital scales and laser measuring, it's easy (in fact, easier) to measure distances in decimal parts of a meter, and weights in multiples of a gram. But these technologies have only been around, what, a few dozen years? :)

Putting aside the arbitrary notions of "the length of the king's foot" vs. "1x10-6 of the equator-polar distance through Paris", the issue is how to measure lengths in terms of the base unit. And base 12 is simply better -- for practical reasons.

I've got a bunch of eggs, and I want to sell them to people without calculators. If I group my eggs by the dozen, I can split a dozen it into two, three, four, or six equal pieces without having to sell any half-eggs. Feet (12 inches) are similarly divisible, and yards (3 feet) have similar properties. Half a yard = a foot and a half = 18 non-fractional inches.

Admittedly, using an all-decimal system may make you feel smarter than the average simian. But don't forget that the whole Metric thing came about because a particular country wanted to be non-standard in symbolic defiance of their oppressive arisocracy.

Gotta run... I've only got a millifortnight to get ready for the next meeting.

Re:The US needs to catch up

[russellh]

The US needs to catch up to the rest of the world. The entire world uses Metric people. And it makes an infinite amount more sense to use Metric than the US system. If we don't, trade will continue to suffer as well as accidents such as this one.

Nobody is suffering due to English or Imperial units here in America. You want suffering? Then force everyone to change. How European that would be. We have much bigger problems than inches and miles.

BTW, you misread the article. It wasn't the conversion that caused the problem.

Re:Imperial, not English...

[cyt0plas]

> Isn't 100 years enough time to transition?

No.