Is America Actually Metric?

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  • Опубліковано 9 тра 2017
  • The US signed the metre convention and bases all customary units on SI standards. As an aside, the Utah constitution from 1895 required the metric system to be taught in schools. This requirement was repealed in 1987. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    Huge thanks to NIST, Ben Stein and Patrick Abbott.
    www.nist.gov/
    www.nist.gov/pml/weights-and-...
    Special thanks to Patreon Supporters:
    Tony Fadell, Donal Botkin, Jeff Straathof, Zach Mueller, Ron Neal, Nathan Hansen
    Back in 1875 The US signed the Metre Convention, which basically committed the country to use the metric system. In return, French scientists sent two platinum-iridium cylinders that weigh 1kg to the US in 1889 (known by their designations K4 and K20 from a set of 40 identical objects that were produced and sent around the world). So even though everything you see and buy in the US is usually reported in pounds, all weights are traceable back to the K20 kilogram (by applying a conversion factor to get to pounds).
    When I was in DC a few weeks ago, I visited the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and got up close with K20, which is still kept there and used to calibrate all mass standards in this country. I thought it was pretty cool.
    Edited by Bill Connor

КОМЕНТАРІ • 7 тис.

  • @afrofantom6631
    @afrofantom6631 7 років тому +10741

    *are you allowed to say that*
    *well its the truth*
    the mark of a true scientist.

    • @reNINTENDO
      @reNINTENDO 7 років тому +181

      Damn straight.

    • @SuperKeyifier
      @SuperKeyifier 7 років тому +87

      Afro Fantom theres two sexes

    • @afrofantom6631
      @afrofantom6631 7 років тому +20

      what

    • @gavinjenkins899
      @gavinjenkins899 7 років тому +17

      "It's stupid" is not "the truth" though in any absolute sense, it's a balancing act that depends on different assumptions one makes and different time frames. E.g. if the US will exist for 200 years, then the hassle of switching is probably worthwhile. If it might only exist for 20 years, it's almost certainly not. Depends. So I would say he was wrong in claiming that unequivocably. (All the details before, fine)

    • @mateifratila2735
      @mateifratila2735 7 років тому +154

      having to transform anything from one system of reference to another then back again is so inefficient that it is, in fact, stupid. It does not matter what history, economics or logistics have to say about this. Imagine the "hassle" of changing the heliocentric paradigm... Who could've said it was "worthwhile" then? Objective Truth does not depend on context, that's why making it objective is such an important mission.

  • @a.s.h.5774
    @a.s.h.5774 7 років тому +3453

    What a great host he was! He was really great explaining and joking about things. Dude needs his own UA-cam channel haha.

    • @intjonmiller
      @intjonmiller 7 років тому +23

      A.S. H. I would subscribe to that!

    • @2adamast
      @2adamast 7 років тому +2

      Even to giggling camera toting preachers

    • @Preedx2
      @Preedx2 7 років тому +7

      Totally agree!

    • @deathh4204
      @deathh4204 7 років тому +5

      chill...

    • @yakine259
      @yakine259 7 років тому +2

      he talks a little slow and clumsy though, but yeah I agree

  • @aniruddharao8735
    @aniruddharao8735 2 роки тому +1681

    He forgot the most American measurement unit: football fields

    • @MrUnit731
      @MrUnit731 2 роки тому +6

      😆

    • @prumchhangsreng979
      @prumchhangsreng979 2 роки тому +41

      This was suppose to be a joke and it's an old one. They use football fields to give u a sense of reference because human is bad at imagining big number. It meant to give u an ideal of how big it actually is and it's good. I indeed hate US measurements unit because I never use any of it in daily life nor ever learn it. But this "football fields" thing, I actually like it.

    • @baginatora
      @baginatora 2 роки тому +44

      Imagine having a specimen for a football field measurement!
      Bald science guy: "And here we have the FF2 original measurement from 1907.." *opens an enclosed platinum football field*

    • @MrUnit731
      @MrUnit731 2 роки тому +7

      @@prumchhangsreng979 boohoo.

    • @bountylord9125
      @bountylord9125 2 роки тому +3

      Naw fam that would be my 9mm bullets

  • @kskdtr
    @kskdtr 4 роки тому +2743

    at the security checks "so, Mister, what you got in that suitcase?"
    "just a kilo"
    "a kilo of... what... Mister?"
    "told you..... just a kilo"

    • @Keyvakim
      @Keyvakim 4 роки тому +287

      THE kilo

    • @rexammus
      @rexammus 4 роки тому +54

      @@Keyvakim A*, there are at least 40.

    • @christopherg2347
      @christopherg2347 4 роки тому +76

      @@rexammus The AMERICAN kilo?
      Honestly, given it's massive importance for economy, I really wonder why they are not ferried by the government using diplomatic channels - where nobody will want to open it.

    • @sonoslain69
      @sonoslain69 4 роки тому +24

      Kilogram ? Kilometer ? Kilo just means a 1000. A kilo of oranges will need a large shopping bag.😂

    • @christopherg2347
      @christopherg2347 4 роки тому +33

      @@sonoslain69 But "kilo" is often used as a shorthand for "Kilogramm". Ever since Byte counts went into Mega and Giga ranges, it is almsot the only thing were we use the "Kilo" prefix anymore.

  • @9myr
    @9myr 7 років тому +4728

    I love how he says ''feet'' and ''gallon'' with disgust

    • @TestarossaF110
      @TestarossaF110 7 років тому +96

      9myr he laughed when he said it... its a joke xD stupid murica

    • @atomixfang
      @atomixfang 7 років тому +220

      they are lesser units, any person using imperial units are dumb and deserve to be ridiculed.

    • @LuxFerre4242
      @LuxFerre4242 7 років тому +253

      People who use imperial units aren't 'dumb', it's just what they're used to. The change to metric has to be governmental and slowly ( I mean decades slowly) adopted by the people. What is 'dumb' is every single justification I've ever heard for sticking to imperial.

    • @WobblyBits_X
      @WobblyBits_X 7 років тому +88

      +Lightbearer _I mean decades slowly_
      Plenty of other countries have managed to switch to metric perfectly well. NZ started the shift in 1969 and was done by '76. I imagine things like the internet and manufacturing techniques would make the process quicker today.

    • @LuxFerre4242
      @LuxFerre4242 7 років тому +37

      I was basing it on here in the UK. We officially adopted metric in '65 but imperial still used in a lot of places. The difference being, I use more metric than my parents, and their parents barely understand it even now. This makes me think a conversion requires at least a generation to be done fully.

  • @arisnikoletopoulos5951
    @arisnikoletopoulos5951 7 років тому +3019

    "It's stupid.."
    "Are you allowed to say that??"
    "Well, it's the truth!"
    many people need to understand this..

    • @stephenhoughton632
      @stephenhoughton632 7 років тому +33

      How stupid? The metric system is just as arbitrary as the traditional system.

    • @arisnikoletopoulos5951
      @arisnikoletopoulos5951 7 років тому +219

      the point is that the traditional system is metric. Brits just wanted to be different because they had an empire and such.. Nowadays however it's kinda silly that the remnants of said empire refuse to just translate back to the system everyone else uses

    • @stephenhoughton632
      @stephenhoughton632 7 років тому +13

      The brits did not want to be different because they had an empire and such. Come on how am I to treat you seriously when you write this kind of ahistorical nonsense. The british had long used traditional units. They are mentioned in the Magna Charta for god sake. When the metric system came along they defined there units in terms of metric to make the systems compatable without having to go through the trouble of converting.

    • @logicphile6207
      @logicphile6207 7 років тому +5

      Nad: All of that is arbitrary. None of that has any relevance to a measurement system. Additionally, it is wrong. Nicky: if everyone used imperial, none of that would have happened, now would it?

    • @noahpurza-page7220
      @noahpurza-page7220 7 років тому +30

      Yeah and America should follow the rest of the world

  • @jamesdinius7769
    @jamesdinius7769 3 роки тому +229

    1:19 as a US engineer, I can attest to that.

    • @ninepuchar1
      @ninepuchar1 3 роки тому +2

      Ohh wow😂.

    • @annakquinn7084
      @annakquinn7084 Рік тому

      If that is true…why dictionaries exist? Metric is only for people who can only know how to divide ir multiply by ten.

  • @Ace12GA
    @Ace12GA 3 роки тому +800

    I love this guy. He's amazing. "It's stupid". lol.
    I'm Canadian. I lived in Texas for 6 months when I was 14, and attended my first half of grade 9 in Texas. Having spent my entire life in Canada up to this point, the metric system was second nature to me. When I started my grade 9 science class in Texas, I realized a couple of days in, that this class was actually about teaching the metric system. My mind was blown. If you're curious, I had an A+ in that class, and actually helped teach metric to my fellow classmates. It was a surreal experience.
    As an adult with my own children, I find it shockingly difficult to explain the imperial system to my children. It doesn't make sense. 12 inches in a foot. 3 feet in a yard. 1760 yards in a mile. 5280 feet in a mile. 16 ounces in a pound. 14 pounds in a stone. 2000 pounds in a ton. 16 ounces in a pint. 2 pints in a quart. 4 quarts in a gallon. 4 ounces in a cup. 2 tablespoons in an ounce. 3 teaspoons in one tablespoon. I'm baffled by the lack of consistency in the measures; it's all over the place.
    10mm in 1cm, 100cm in 1m, 1000m in 1km. 1000g in 1kg, 1000kg in 1 tonne. 1000ml in 1l, 1l is 10cm cubed, aka 1000cc. All even numbers, all powers of ten. So much simpler to work with.
    At this point, I'm just shocked that the us was part of the meter treaty, yet is fully imperial still. Finding out all US imperial measures are actually converted from metric standards is shocking.

    • @solna7214
      @solna7214 3 роки тому +24

      Yes it is crazy. Try this:
      Put one ounce of cotton and one ounce of gold on a balancing scale. What would happen?
      Then put one pound of cotton and one pound of gold on the scale, what happens now...?

    • @Esky_boi
      @Esky_boi 2 роки тому +7

      @@solna7214 no idea?

    • @solna7214
      @solna7214 2 роки тому +18

      @@Esky_boi, in the first case, the gold tips over.
      In the second case the cotton tips over.
      Figure that one out…! 😁

    • @steveaustin2686
      @steveaustin2686 2 роки тому +58

      @@Esky_boi An ounce of gold is not the same ounce as an ounce of cotton. Gold is measured in troy ounces, not the avoirdupois ounce used for just about everything else. A troy ounce is ever so slightly heavier than an ounce. But there are only 12 troy ounces in a troy pound, so it is lighter than a normal pound of 16 ounces.

    • @steveaustin2686
      @steveaustin2686 2 роки тому +8

      FYI, there are 8 fluid ounces to a cup, but with so much to remember, its easy to miss. I remember by the 2 cups to a pint conversion and a pint is 16 fluid ounces.

  • @zerid0
    @zerid0 7 років тому +1956

    It all began with the forging of the Great Kilograms. Three were given to
    the French; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven, to the
    Germans, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And two,
    Kilograms were gifted to the United States, who above all else desire
    power.

    • @trun_k
      @trun_k 7 років тому +448

      But they were all of them deceived, for another Kilogram was made: in the land of French, in the grounds of Paris, the evil scientists forged, in secret, a Master Kilogram to be above all others. And into this Kilogram they poured their knowledge, their intelligence, and their will to define all the units in the world.
      One Kilogram to rule them all, One Kilogram to find them, One Kilogram to bring them all and in the darkness define them.

    • @WayStedYou
      @WayStedYou 7 років тому +122

      Columini this needs to be made into a movie

    • @kmanjacker4737
      @kmanjacker4737 7 років тому +5

      .

    • @MarkusJunnikkala
      @MarkusJunnikkala 7 років тому +71

      But there were some who resisted!

    • @mistertheguy3073
      @mistertheguy3073 7 років тому +5

      Columini thats actually perfect

  • @lejink
    @lejink 7 років тому +911

    I can just imagine trying to get this on a plane, you tell the TSA it's an important scientific standard of weight, and they cannot open the container..
    TSA agent takes it from you, opens it.. drops it on the floor..
    Throws it all back in your bag and tells you to have a nice day

    • @dinothunder629
      @dinothunder629 7 років тому +168

      Dee Jay and that's how you lose 50mg over a hundred years

    • @JohnSmith-dk6on
      @JohnSmith-dk6on 7 років тому +80

      Dee Jay just imagine the shitstorm that would create

    • @Stratos1988
      @Stratos1988 7 років тому +72

      And then You tell him "it's 100k dollars, VAT included. Would You like receipt ?". His mind is blown.

    • @Pyrazahn
      @Pyrazahn 7 років тому +136

      You forgot the "we need to scrape off a sample to make sure you cannot build a bomb out of it" part :D

    • @Crazmuss
      @Crazmuss 7 років тому +10

      Then he asks what it made of, heard word iridium...

  • @sophiacristina
    @sophiacristina 4 роки тому +1570

    As a non-american, the only reason i have to use converters is because you guys!

    • @photonjones5908
      @photonjones5908 3 роки тому +40

      Submit, Accept, Embrace. Be happy.

    • @HugoDiasR
      @HugoDiasR 2 роки тому +320

      @@photonjones5908 No, this is stupid

    • @nagyba
      @nagyba 2 роки тому +83

      American entitlement 😬👌

    • @strobi0001
      @strobi0001 2 роки тому +52

      @@HugoDiasR What you mean stupid... We did not even mention Fahrenheit which has no a notable value for freezing or boiling water.

    • @Rob-vy6zx
      @Rob-vy6zx 2 роки тому +21

      Lots of countries use customary units, not just the US. Ask a British person to guess your weight and you'll likely get an answer in stone & pounds. Drink some sake in Japan and it'll be poured out by Gō, buy some lumber or bedding and you'll encounter shakus. I don't think I've ever heard of a country where the weather report is given in kelvin.

  • @vibhaath
    @vibhaath 3 роки тому +1074

    There two kinds of countries:
    The ones that uses metric system and the other that secretly use metric system to reach moon

    • @lordkell1986
      @lordkell1986 3 роки тому +8

      Though, Mars Climate Orbitor...?

    • @freibier
      @freibier 3 роки тому +73

      I think they openly used the metric system to reach the moon. And someone from a metric system-using country (von Braun) to lead them :-)

    • @kerbalaerospacelabs3445
      @kerbalaerospacelabs3445 3 роки тому +21

      @@freibier NASA didn’t begin switching to metric until the 80s. Though there was a quirk with the guidance computer on Apollo where the calculations were done in metric, but the readings were displayed in US Customary. After that it was generally a mix.
      The reason for that is because US Customary is still big in the engineering world in the US, though no longer universal.

    • @vinitvsankhe
      @vinitvsankhe 3 роки тому +1

      Ahem.

    • @joehoe222
      @joehoe222 3 роки тому +4

      Like the Russians who landed first on the moon?

  • @kdmc40
    @kdmc40 7 років тому +2993

    The USA does use the metric system where it matters! Have you ever seen cocaine sold in Lbs? Or any other drug for that matter! 😂
    Edit: I'm referring to the commercial sale and production of illegal and legal drugs. Street level can be what ever way you like!

    • @armpitpuncher
      @armpitpuncher 7 років тому +168

      I've seen it sold in ounces, or fractions of ounces.

    • @DJMattEmpathy
      @DJMattEmpathy 7 років тому +32

      and nine-bars

    • @lachy4052
      @lachy4052 7 років тому +36

      kdmc40 yeah I've only ever seen imperials units for drugs outside of kilos

    • @MsJavaWolf
      @MsJavaWolf 6 років тому +66

      I have seen cocaine sold by the lbs, it was a good night.

    • @GR-cf4qh
      @GR-cf4qh 5 років тому +2

      Yes, I have.

  • @Digital111
    @Digital111 5 років тому +635

    5:44 When its 2AM and you're trying to be quiet while taking food from the kitchen.

    • @brendanodoms5401
      @brendanodoms5401 5 років тому +15

      what kind of fridge do you have?!?!?

    • @monkey.dluffy5609
      @monkey.dluffy5609 5 років тому

      the meme overlord. Probably a bouty bouy

    • @sarikatimmi
      @sarikatimmi 4 роки тому +2

      Spectrum im doing that now actually. had to switch this to headphones and everything

    • @darkthunder301
      @darkthunder301 3 роки тому +1

      @@brendanodoms5401 a spiteful one probably

  • @ertagon
    @ertagon 4 роки тому +551

    World: "Metric System"
    America: "That's crazy !"

    • @zionj104
      @zionj104 3 роки тому +1

      bfdi reference or just funny comment?

    • @ertagon
      @ertagon 3 роки тому +1

      @@zionj104 Have a guess.

    • @zionj104
      @zionj104 3 роки тому

      @@ertagon Based on your uploads, I'd guess the latter

    • @ertagon
      @ertagon 3 роки тому +7

      @@zionj104 Well good job. Get yourself a cookie.

    • @Hubert_Cumberdale_
      @Hubert_Cumberdale_ 3 роки тому

      @@ertagon Can I also have a cookie?

  • @juansiahaan6698
    @juansiahaan6698 5 років тому +732

    Watching this after redefinition of kg...

    • @sion8
      @sion8 4 роки тому +4

      *+*

    • @Globalx59
      @Globalx59 3 роки тому +50

      That guy no longer has a job

    • @VitaliyCD
      @VitaliyCD 3 роки тому +15

      @@Globalx59 poor guy.. :/

    • @flameraker6824
      @flameraker6824 2 роки тому +1

      @@Globalx59 why?

    • @xenotronia6681
      @xenotronia6681 2 роки тому +34

      @@flameraker6824 kilogram is no longer defined with a physical object

  • @imaginerus
    @imaginerus 5 років тому +777

    1:22 "Are you allowed to say that?" No, the imperial order will hunt him down

  • @emmamay3820
    @emmamay3820 7 років тому +2692

    The Texas kilogram is, of course, bigger.

    • @jcnash02
      @jcnash02 5 років тому +65

      Emma May yes, it's made from crude oil

    • @randominternetprofile8270
      @randominternetprofile8270 5 років тому +24

      I can agree with all these points

    • @NudeJawn
      @NudeJawn 5 років тому +36

      How much is The Texas kilogram in Instagrams?

    • @evoblade2000
      @evoblade2000 5 років тому +31

      3 lovely butt models

    • @recless8667
      @recless8667 5 років тому +32

      Good thing a kilogram isn't a measurement of size. The Texas kilogram has a lower density, much like the average Texan due to their morbid obesity :P

  • @zameliz
    @zameliz 4 роки тому +56

    1:18 That nonchalant "yes, it's stupid" just cracked me up :'D

  • @betaneptune
    @betaneptune 2 роки тому +5

    Thank you for dropping musical backgrounds. It's much easier to comprehend and absorb the content this way!

    • @hijodelaisla275
      @hijodelaisla275 2 роки тому +1

      Agree 100%. Why is nerve-wracking, distracting music, which often competes with the narration, the norm? Are people who post UA-cam videos so insecure about their content, that they think it needs "enhancement"?

  • @LKAChannel
    @LKAChannel 7 років тому +244

    Spoiler alert: the Kilogram will be defined via the Planck constant

    • @TheMrdonmessi
      @TheMrdonmessi 7 років тому +16

      Antimatter Putin The meter is actually based on the lenght that light travels in an specified amount of time. So its based on a universal constant "speed of light in vacuum "

    •  7 років тому +4

      As Alpha and Josué have said, meter and second are already defined based on physical constants (which hopefully will stay constant... but then again, does *that* really matter?). And the kilogram (to spoiler the next video) is being worked on... I think they do have it nailed down mostly, just need to finalize it treaty-wise next year. I don't recall (I've read of it) the definition they'll use, it might even be what LKAChannel says. :D

    • @MusicalRaichu
      @MusicalRaichu 7 років тому +8

      Kind of. It will be calculated via the Planck constant *measured on the basis of the existing kilogram standard*. However, once they calculate the constant, it's value will be fixed and the new kilogram based on that.

    • @joystix11
      @joystix11 7 років тому +7

      Scrolled to find the answer, thanks.

    • @AbruptAvalanche
      @AbruptAvalanche 7 років тому +2

      +Jurgen The second is actually based on the radiation of a certain cesium atom, not a physical constant.

  • @wayrren3844
    @wayrren3844 7 років тому +421

    Remember that one where there was like a super-round sphere?

    • @parv_ps5275
      @parv_ps5275 7 років тому +69

      Keno Goertz damn spoilers!!!

    • @Dr.Spatula
      @Dr.Spatula 7 років тому +10

      Spoilers? I remember hearing this a long time ago

    • @binky2819
      @binky2819 7 років тому +8

      It's called silicon, not silicium. The name silicium was merely proposed for the element, so it probably wasn't even used. It was given the name silicon way back in 1817.

    • @MattiasVerduijn
      @MattiasVerduijn 7 років тому +27

      binky2819 In my country it is called silicium ;)

    • @Ritlz
      @Ritlz 7 років тому +13

      Silicium is latin for silicon. :)

  • @Madcat0
    @Madcat0 3 роки тому +79

    My car runs in football fields per burger and that's how I like it!
    God bless America! Go USA!

    • @Teporame
      @Teporame 2 роки тому +8

      You are not a mad cat, just a stupid cat.

    • @mew9763
      @mew9763 2 роки тому +4

      football fields per burger eaten... Now that's a system I can work with!

    • @BubbasGarage
      @BubbasGarage 2 роки тому

      @@Teporame and you're nothing more than a grumpy old brit

  • @peteacher52
    @peteacher52 5 років тому +20

    The metric system is delightfully simple to operate, and the Americans sensibly decimalised their currency from the outset, even if not weights and measures. Those of us of a certain age can recall with horror, struggling through long division of money in pounds, shillings and pence at school, with teachers of widely varying doses of patience. Then came dollars and cents, and the whole thing suddenly became relatively easy! But dentists and jewellers still use "grains" as a measure of weight, which is but another variant of the old system. Col, NZ

  • @rooneyrythm
    @rooneyrythm 7 років тому +2116

    So even Americans think the imperial system is stupid.

    • @656hookemhorns
      @656hookemhorns 7 років тому +12

      Demon nope, just him.

    • @chortles6969
      @chortles6969 7 років тому +536

      The Americans who aren't wrapped up in blind hypernationalism and respect the sciences agree.

    • @zackalzar1
      @zackalzar1 7 років тому +113

      Demon yes I'm pretty sure at this point alot of us do

    • @656hookemhorns
      @656hookemhorns 7 років тому +13

      Guys other than your soda, name 1 thing you do now in metric every day.

    • @Noremaad
      @Noremaad 7 років тому +82

      Convert every measurement so you can communicate with the outside world?

  • @details2378
    @details2378 7 років тому +2772

    The USA used the metric system all along *Mind Blown*

    • @Mr8bitaddict
      @Mr8bitaddict 7 років тому +35

      Red Light Wrong they are part of it, not using it

    • @MechanicalDoll
      @MechanicalDoll 7 років тому +125

      Red Light *a raped metric system.

    • @harrysvensson2610
      @harrysvensson2610 7 років тому +97

      a deformed metric system. Like Smeagol.

    • @AboboKing
      @AboboKing 7 років тому +31

      I prefer inches and feet. Inches are big enough to have a visible impact. Moving something 1 inch on your wall produces a noticeable effect -- unlike say 1cm. Feet being base 12 can be easily divided into 1/2 or 1/3 or 1/4.
      The issue of the number of feet in a yard or mile is irrelevant because in real world use you NEVER convert between those. In normal day to day life, I've never once needed to convert feet to anything else.

    • @dr.catherineelizabethhalse1820
      @dr.catherineelizabethhalse1820 7 років тому +55

      "My measures! Gollum! Gollum!"

  • @ahah86
    @ahah86 2 роки тому +1

    THANKS! This video will always be my answer to any conversation about metric system in America.

  • @LorienGL
    @LorienGL 3 роки тому +35

    Since 2019 the definition has changed:
    The kilogram, symbol kg, is the SI unit of mass. It is defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the Planck constant h to be 6.62607015×10−34 when expressed in the unit J⋅s, which is equal to kg⋅m2⋅s−1, where the metre and the second are defined in terms of c and ΔνCs.

    • @CaliMeatWagon
      @CaliMeatWagon 2 роки тому +5

      Well that should be easier to figure out if I'm ever without a scale...

    • @78anurag
      @78anurag 2 роки тому +10

      @@CaliMeatWagon Your statement is like saying that you can't measure time in seconds without a stopwatch anymore because you don't know the time duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the fundamental unperturbed ground-state of the caesium 133 atom.
      You can always have a rough estimate of a kilogram in your mind

    • @CaliMeatWagon
      @CaliMeatWagon 2 роки тому +1

      @@78anurag Airplane...

    • @78anurag
      @78anurag 2 роки тому +5

      @@CaliMeatWagon What?

    • @andyw5962
      @andyw5962 2 роки тому

      Cool story bro

  • @levannti
    @levannti 7 років тому +616

    ''Yes, it's stupid...I agree''
    ''Are you allowed to say that?''
    ''It's true...''

    • @fjoa123
      @fjoa123 7 років тому +29

      truth is always beautiful in the first place.

    • @lajoswinkler
      @lajoswinkler 7 років тому +165

      That's how you distinguish a scientist from a politician.

    • @Mockturtlesoup1
      @Mockturtlesoup1 7 років тому +13

      you have to remember, he's in america. thank God there's nothing contradicting what he said in the bible, or he probably couldn't have said it.

    • @GerHanssen
      @GerHanssen 7 років тому +4

      everything in lower case except the G of god.
      Oops...

    • @Mockturtlesoup1
      @Mockturtlesoup1 7 років тому

      auto correct. for some reason my phone stopped automatically capitalizing the first letter of each sentence.

  • @deytims
    @deytims 7 років тому +162

    The first video I saw on your channel was the one about that 1kg sphere that was nearly perfectly round called "World´s Roundest object".
    And now this video comes up and it creates a loop in all the experiences I have had with your channel!
    You created so much new interests in me and I think this is the perfect opportunity to say: Thank You! Thank you for all the work you have done for me, the millions of viewers and sciences position on youtube etc.
    As I am from germany, it is sad to see that there are so few science channels and the once excisting are barely watched. Therefore you, as an american channel, have got a much wider audience and impact!
    greetings,
    Tim

    • @_N_O_X_O_N_
      @_N_O_X_O_N_ 7 років тому +3

      padfoot LP Das ist wohl wahr!
      Immerhin gibt es aber sowas wie den Kanal "Urknall, Weltall und das Leben" z.B. Und der Kanal "In a nutshell" ist ja auch quasi ein deutscher Kanal, der sich einfach auf den englisch sprachigen Raum ausgeweitet hat. ;)

    • @deytims
      @deytims 7 років тому +5

      Ja klar, aber zumindest vor einem Jahr hatte der englische Kanal von "In a nutshell" ein unglaublich Vielfaches an Klicks im Vergleich zum deutschen Kanal. Für Kinder die deutschsprachig aufwachsen gibt es dann aber leider 1. durch mangelndes Angebot und 2. durch fehlenden "Hype" weniger Chancen auf dies Kanäle aufmerksam zu werden

    • @sillyshitt
      @sillyshitt 7 років тому

      +

    • @REECHUK
      @REECHUK 7 років тому +2

      Derek isn't American though tsk ;)

    • @ekki1993
      @ekki1993 7 років тому +2

      So now you unsubscribe to go full circle? :P
      PS. Try Kurzgesagt (In a nutshell). It's more entertainment than science but it's really great.

  • @standardannonymousguy
    @standardannonymousguy 4 роки тому

    Great story! Thank you for sharing!!

  • @hannahherscu9981
    @hannahherscu9981 Рік тому +9

    So many medication errors occur in patient care because of conversions between kilogram and pounds. To convert, you have to multiply or divide by 2.2. 1kg=2.2lbs. Since many medications are weight-based, if someone accidentally puts in a patient chart the opposite number, then a patient can get 2 times the medication they should. Either that or they only get half the medication they were prescribed. This can be extremely dangerous. We should just use the metric system. How would we go about switching?

  • @michaelsteinbach
    @michaelsteinbach 5 років тому +118

    1:50 What?! We use these shoe covers at work and have to manually stretch them around our shoes like animals. I'm going to put the Bootie Butler in the suggestion box.

    • @derrickstorm6976
      @derrickstorm6976 3 роки тому

      Well, he obviously doesn't have an office job...

    • @michaelsteinbach
      @michaelsteinbach 3 роки тому +6

      @@baronvonslambert Nope

    • @futurez1988
      @futurez1988 2 роки тому

      We have them in private clinics

    • @jakeybby8527
      @jakeybby8527 2 роки тому +1

      Did you ever get the bootie butler bro

    • @michaelsteinbach
      @michaelsteinbach 2 роки тому +1

      @@jakeybby8527 Nope. I mentioned it to my boss, but never heard anything more.

  • @Rau-AR
    @Rau-AR 7 років тому +828

    Patrick Abbot: Yeah Stupid.
    Are you allowed to say that?
    Patrick Abbot: It's true.
    ~Thug Life

    • @oldcowbb
      @oldcowbb 7 років тому +6

      dadadadada

    • @HuxleyTheProf
      @HuxleyTheProf 7 років тому +10

      oldcowbb It's the mother-mother D-O Double G!

    • @foobar1672
      @foobar1672 7 років тому

      Never prohibit to say about stupid things they are stupid. We should DEFINE it.

    • @eXHawk015
      @eXHawk015 7 років тому +4

      I mean, he's the Keeper of the American Kilogram. I think he has to call the Imperial system stupid.

    • @shree397
      @shree397 7 років тому +1

      Raul A.R it's not so metric system came in way after imperial did and most countries use metric even scientists in America for records use metric eg. payload is measured in kgs not lbs(lbs is just to inform public)..... weirdest part is UK uses both....in my case, india we uses Metric and so does Australia but why does UK who basically gave this system of measurement to her colonies use both...... baffling

  • @Psychlist1972
    @Psychlist1972 3 роки тому +6

    I remember back in the late 70s, or maybe early 80s, we were all taught metric in school, alongside imperial. All our rulers had inches and cm/mm on them. We had to use both. We also used grams alongside ounces. The teachers seemed to think the US would eventually convert over.
    But later, most schools stopped doing that, and laziness prevailed. Now, anything metric is more an anomaly. As a woodworker who likes European and American tools, I'm always using both.

    • @warren52nz
      @warren52nz 3 роки тому +2

      I was in Canada in the 1970s when they officially went metric.

    • @patrickcannell2258
      @patrickcannell2258 23 дні тому

      ​@warren52nz in South Africa we were forced in 1971. No more buying gasoline in gallons, driving in miles. All was forced to change by law.

  • @DevanshGuptaChess
    @DevanshGuptaChess 5 років тому

    the video is great.....solved all my misconceptions for the new KG

  • @molnibalage83
    @molnibalage83 7 років тому +44

    The silence at 1:00. Epic.

  • @tristanhoekstra
    @tristanhoekstra 7 років тому +218

    That goddamn cliffhanger. I'm guessing by the amount of atoms of a specific element?

    • @Delfigamer1
      @Delfigamer1 7 років тому +13

      Yes, that is one possibility. Another one is to use quantum effects on electrical circuitry, and it's only gonna get more complicated with more words.

    • @alexanderreusens7633
      @alexanderreusens7633 7 років тому +12

      Well, just like a meter is now defined in relation to the speed of light through a vacuum, and a second is defined in relation to the amount of decaying atoms, surely a kilogram will be defined in relation to some kind of fixed energy, like X amount of fotons with a certain frequency.

    • @KiloOscarZulu
      @KiloOscarZulu 7 років тому +7

      It's going to be based of Planck's constant h. But then, it will mean that kg will be defined by metre (distance) and second (time). Metre will be defined by speed of light, and second will be defined by Caesium.

    • @danhibiki2
      @danhibiki2 7 років тому +14

      funny thing is, this guy already made a video(back in 2013) about the new definition of a kilogram

    • @tonyrulez69
      @tonyrulez69 7 років тому +2

      I might be wrong but I think while second is defined by decaying atoms they aren't measured by that. They use a specific laser's wave length for that.

  • @jimmysomethin5878
    @jimmysomethin5878 4 роки тому

    Great Video, Jimmy!

  • @AdmiralBison
    @AdmiralBison 3 роки тому +3

    The only reason why imperial continues to persist in the United States alone is because many industries don’t want to spend money converting and the government (most likely on behalf of those industries) has made metric “voluntary”
    So in schools it is really up to the class curriculum if metric is taught instead, and I suspect many parents have influence on wanting their kids to stick to the antiquated system. 1 big problem:
    The United States can’t keep using two competing measurement systems for too long, especially with tech industries being more global and hiring international workers on special visas who naturally understand metric far better than most Americans.

    • @GH-oi2jf
      @GH-oi2jf 3 роки тому

      Use of metric has always been voluntary in the US until recently. Nowadays, some government work requires metric. I think NASA is entirely metric now. It has worked out well enough being voluntary, in my opinion. Our automobile industry uses metric hardware without ever having been told they must. Businesss will do what makes for good business without being forced.

  • @jeanpignondepied
    @jeanpignondepied 7 років тому +631

    Everybody knows this quote(maybe not) :
    In metric, one milliliter of water occupies one cubic centimeter, weighs one gram, and requires one calorie of energy to heat up by one degree centigrade-which is 1 percent of the difference between its freezing point and its boiling point.
    An amount of hydrogen weighing the same amount has exactly one mole of atoms in it.
    Whereas in the American system, the answer to ‘How much energy does it take to boil a room-temperature gallon of water ?’ is ‘Go **** yourself,’
    because you can’t directly relate any of those quantities.

    • @sarowie
      @sarowie 7 років тому +36

      This is a strowman argument. The ratio is not exactly one nor do you ever have "pure water". In the metric system, we have to use material tables as well, normalizing them to water is of limited use. The true strength of the metric system is, that we all agree that 25.4mm is precisely one inch. A one inch piece of wood on the other hand can be either 25mm ("about an inch" - hidden metrification) or 25.4mm or "something around that". Those "cutting loses" and "rounding errors" add up quickly (but are partially the reason, why US engineers are much faster in calculating a rough result in their head, then other engineers with calculator take much longer to get the result to three significant digits).

    • @Threedog1963
      @Threedog1963 7 років тому +34

      Abasachs
      Just put it on the stove until it boils.

    • @kingnabeel12
      @kingnabeel12 7 років тому +36

      Abasachs whenever someone makes this asinine stupid comment I know they're not an engineer or an actual scientist and are just hopping on the America hate train.

    • @germansniper5277
      @germansniper5277 7 років тому +51

      kingnabeel12 how is preferring the metric system anyhow related to hating america though? (In a logical sense)

    • @AngelLestat2
      @AngelLestat2 7 років тому +57

      +sarowie Lol.. you can not be so dumb.. US engineers are much faster in calculating a rough result?? where do you get that silly idea?
      You can not even imagine that we dont need to think in the imperial system? because all our measures are in the metric system.. So we dont need to use fraction numbers more than you, tell me how much it takes a US engineer to convert some imperial units into other imperial units?
      BTW.. most of your engineers and all your scientist.. already use the metric system, because the imperial system sucks.

  • @brendarua01
    @brendarua01 7 років тому +31

    Ha! I knew I wasn't really gaining weight. It was the standards fluctuating around me. Damn you, Universe!

    • @samm4510
      @samm4510 7 років тому +4

      The weight of a kilogram is increasing so actually you should lose weight from the shifts in the standard...:P

  • @RakeshVerma-dm2qw
    @RakeshVerma-dm2qw 2 роки тому

    Your presentations are innovative.
    How you would have explained metrology pyramid?
    Can you make a video on the above topic?

  • @rastislavstanik
    @rastislavstanik 3 роки тому +1

    this was super interesting!

  • @Aletaire
    @Aletaire 7 років тому +317

    Huh, didn't know Louis C.K. knew so much about the Kilogram.

    • @TestarossaF110
      @TestarossaF110 7 років тому +3

      Robert McEwen HHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH

    • @ToddHowar.d
      @ToddHowar.d 7 років тому +2

      Robert McEwen best comment

    • @macintalkshow
      @macintalkshow 7 років тому

      I SPECIFICALLY scrolled down to see if anyone had commented this.

    • @lautaa33
      @lautaa33 7 років тому

      meaning the guy looks like louis ck? or is this a reference to some standup ?

    • @360.Tapestry
      @360.Tapestry 7 років тому

      mainly in the eye bags only

  • @niall6255
    @niall6255 7 років тому +178

    those official weights are gonna be a lot heavier now, since the camera adds ten pounds

  • @benjerry6442
    @benjerry6442 5 років тому +1

    The US should do what the UK done, introduce all packaging and products to dual weights. While keep highlighting the metric weights. Until the populace becomes comfortable with both, easily switching without computation. Then slowly phase out Imperial. I am fluent in both weight systems. A pint is still a pint in the UK.

  • @ze_german2921
    @ze_german2921 4 роки тому +40

    A New one is $100K
    Rick from Pawn Stars: I have to frame it, it will sit here in the shop for a very long time, How about $20

    • @tanyano9
      @tanyano9 4 роки тому +5

      Let me call a buddy of mine....

  • @rpgparatodos5426
    @rpgparatodos5426 7 років тому +51

    "All the units we communally use [...] are actually defined in terms of metric units" Take that muricas!!
    :D
    Nice video like usually too.

    • @DanielPennybaker
      @DanielPennybaker 7 років тому

      Borsa The imperial system is older than the metric system. The imperial system isn't defined by any terms of the metric system.

    • @RenatoRamonda
      @RenatoRamonda 7 років тому +5

      *WAS* defined independently from the metric units. Keyword there is *was*.
      When I went to high school I studied the Imperial units and memorized the inch as 2.548... cms... I used to know 5 decimals. Check it now on google or wikipedia or wherever. An inch is now precisely 2.54 centimeters.
      That's because the inch (like all the US Customary units), which used to be independently defined and as such had weird ratios with lots of decimals vs SI units, have been redefined. Oddly, they've been that way since 1959 but our high school book in 1993 still used the old standard for the US.
      There is not (no longer) such thing as an official specimen to measure to know how long a yard is. A yard is defined as 0.944 meters.
      There you go
      www.ngs.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/FedRegister/FRdoc59-5442.pdf

    • @dipi71
      @dipi71 7 років тому

      Originally, the imperial system wasn't defined based on the metric system, but now it is.

    • @meteor5452
      @meteor5452 6 років тому

      originally it wasnt just used by you and liberia, but now it is

  • @christianfieldhouse902
    @christianfieldhouse902 7 років тому +59

    The redefinition in 2018, if you're too curious to wait.
    Wikipedia:
    In October 2010, the CIPM voted to submit a resolution for consideration at the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM), to "take note of an intention" that the kilogram be defined in terms of the Planck constant, h (which has dimensions of energy times time) together with other fundamental units.[59][60] This resolution was accepted by the 24th conference of the CGPM[61] in October 2011 and further discussed at the 25th conference in 2014.[62][63] Although the Committee recognised that significant progress had been made, they concluded that the data did not appear sufficiently robust to adopt the revised definition, and that work should continue to enable the adoption at the 26th meeting, scheduled for 2018.[62] Such a definition would theoretically permit any apparatus that was capable of delineating the kilogram in terms of the Planck constant to be used as long as it possessed sufficient precision, accuracy and stability. The watt balance (discussed below) may be able to do this.

    • @angelic8632002
      @angelic8632002 7 років тому +1

      Christian Fieldhouse Thanks

    • @CesarTreetops
      @CesarTreetops 7 років тому

      Giorgi Gzirishvili sick! thanks for the link

    • @ketankadam5669
      @ketankadam5669 7 років тому

      layman explanation plz

    • @SirDomin8r123
      @SirDomin8r123 7 років тому

      it will be measured in terms of the planck constant, which is the smallest possible thing in the universe, and therefore the most accurate. Not sure how they're gonna do this however, as no measuring device can be accurate to a planck unit.

    • @sadhlife
      @sadhlife 7 років тому

      SirDomin8r123 Being accurate to a planck unit is unnecessary. as long as they are accurate "enough", it's fine.

  • @Allan_Davidson
    @Allan_Davidson 3 роки тому +17

    There is an error at the density table @4:31, Iridium density is 22.56 g/cm3, not 22.65 g/cm3 as described.
    Osmium is the top material on density.

  • @KingBobXVI
    @KingBobXVI 4 роки тому +4

    I feel like the relative changes between masses of the kilograms (and the sudden stop in changes) could probably be explained by improvements made in measuring tools and manufacturing tools since the originals were made. It's not that they were gaining or losing mass, but that the prototypes made in the 1880's weren't made as precisely as we can now measure, and that increase in precision is simply revealing their imperfections.

  • @luiscarlosrico2304
    @luiscarlosrico2304 7 років тому +2421

    Reasons to use Fahrenheit and Imperial system:
    None

    • @greesy76
      @greesy76 7 років тому +331

      Reasons for driving on the left side of the road:
      None

    • @jnes624
      @jnes624 7 років тому +163

      well thats a stupid claim since it started out on the left with horseback, people would have a sword on the left hip, then napolean wanted to swap sides to show he wasnt like the monarchy which he spread over Europe(and then made himself emperor and brothers kings). Also the right eye is dominate for most people so its better to drive on the left since you can see more of the road with the stronger eye (but it doesnt really matter)

    • @SA-rb5xq
      @SA-rb5xq 7 років тому +57

      But when you drive on the right you sit on the left side of the car which puts your right eye closer to the centre of the car letting you see more of the road, doesn't it? :7
      EDIT170531
      It's also easier to use your more weaker hand steering. It just needs to go up & down. Then you free your right hand to make more complex tasks by the panels/gearbox.

    • @ce7.0
      @ce7.0 7 років тому +108

      Fahrenheit is objectively a better system for describing the way humans experience the temperature. The temperature range in most habitable climates fits neatly between 0 and 100, and it maps intuitively -- 0 is extremely cold, 100 is extremely hot, in the middle at 50 you'll want a light jacket. Celsius is horrible for weather if you didn't grow up with it.

    • @macksii
      @macksii 7 років тому +326

      In Celsius. Water freezes at 0 degrees, water boils at 100 degrees... Don't see why you don't use it..

  • @markplain2555
    @markplain2555 6 років тому +895

    1kg = 1 litre of water = a box of 10cm x 10cm x 10cm of water. 1,000litres of water fills a volume of 1m x 1m x 1m and weighs 1 ton

    • @Hebdomad7
      @Hebdomad7 5 років тому +53

      Yes and no ...

    • @musicmaker99
      @musicmaker99 5 років тому +82

      No. 1m x 1m x 1m of water weighs a tonne.

    • @DukeVanZoom
      @DukeVanZoom 5 років тому +252

      No, tonne is just metric ton. This ton vs. tonne stupidity is legacy of Imperial units… So everywhere on the planet metric ton is a ton, just in USA, possibly UK you are having these issues…..

    • @HappyBeezerStudios
      @HappyBeezerStudios 5 років тому +18

      short ton (2000 lb) metric ton (1000 kg) or ong ton (2240 lb)?

    • @JRauland
      @JRauland 5 років тому +175

      Why ton? Why not Megagram?

  • @randmayfield5695
    @randmayfield5695 3 місяці тому +1

    I worked hard earning my hard science degree so am a total full believer in the metric system over the standard system. It's amazing how many people argue for the standard system being easier to use therefore better than the metric system. Of course this perspective comes out of ignorance and fear of the unknown.
    I on the other hand find great pleasure in working with the metric system because its based on logic and reason. One kilometer = 1000 meters, 1ml water (at standard conditions) = 1 gram, 1000 grams =1 kilogram.... a truly amazing system. Thank you France!

  • @alexp3752
    @alexp3752 3 роки тому +3

    I hope all these amazing artifacts are protected against earthquakes and other potential disasters!

  • @AbudBakri
    @AbudBakri 7 років тому +781

    Yeah my scale at home is definitely not accurate then...

    • @d_wang9836
      @d_wang9836 7 років тому +7

      Dr.StickFigure Read it as Dr.DickFigure

    • @VentiVonOsterreich
      @VentiVonOsterreich 7 років тому +8

      Your videos hit me harder than my stepfather

    • @user-ht3tp3uj4v
      @user-ht3tp3uj4v 7 років тому +4

      hey !
      I see you in every video comment >.

    • @UhOhUmm
      @UhOhUmm 7 років тому +3

      you can send your scale in for adjustment in your countries standards lab. If you want it calibrated.

    • @Catnugget76
      @Catnugget76 7 років тому +13

      Nothing is ever accurate if you think about it...

  • @carleewalsh5502
    @carleewalsh5502 7 років тому +50

    I would so watch a movie about someone trying to steal one of these.

  • @sourabhchoure498
    @sourabhchoure498 3 роки тому +3

    0:13 "DO NOT ENTER, MEASUREMENT IN PROGRESS" Love that sign!

  • @mahina1963
    @mahina1963 4 роки тому +4

    I had to stop at 1:17 and revel in this fact. I heard as a child about the metric system, and again we 'played' with is when I took a cooking course, but I truly started to use it when I joined the U.S. Army, and now that I've been living in Germany these, oh past 35 years, it comes naturally for me
    This information feels like the american public is being treated like children; (we're using Metric, but we'll leave the imperial labels on, so the public doesn't have a hissy fit)

  • @Gormsy
    @Gormsy 7 років тому +219

    Does the $100,000 Kilogram come with free shipping?

    • @wthrwyz
      @wthrwyz 7 років тому +72

      Only with Amazon Prime.

    • @Knezicdex
      @Knezicdex 7 років тому +67

      Only if its under 1 kg. Would you like us to remove just a bit for free shipping?
      LOL

    • @Mikeological
      @Mikeological 5 років тому +12

      Knezicdex *shipping company uses inaccurate scale to measure a literal kilogram and charge you extra.

    • @CityLifeinAmerica
      @CityLifeinAmerica 5 років тому

      Mikeology Cost of the box too

    • @dbergerac9632
      @dbergerac9632 3 роки тому

      You can order one from China +/- 5%

  • @KastaRules
    @KastaRules 7 років тому +364

    Wait a minute, you are telling me that the *Quarter Pounder* has actually been a *Royale with cheese* in disguise all along and *not* the other way around ???
    Also, I now want a *Bootie Butler* for no reason.

    • @td23asus
      @td23asus 6 років тому +12

      Be careful not to mix up the *Royale with cheese* with *royal cheese*, which is the stuff under Prince Albert's foreskin. #HYBPA

    • @meteor5452
      @meteor5452 6 років тому +5

      fake news. here in a metric country (thats all but 3) that speaks french theyre called "quart de livre avec fromage"

    • @1boobtube
      @1boobtube 5 років тому +7

      @YTViewer , lol the movie reference sailed right over his meme head.

    • @HappyBeezerStudios
      @HappyBeezerStudios 5 років тому +7

      The quarter pounder has been a 113.398093 g burger for over 100 years :D
      There is actually a metric "pound" not as a defined unit but in common language. It is half a kg, which makes a quarter of that 125g. So a metric quaterpounder is actually more than an imperial quarterpounder, about 10% more to be precise. So our european quarterpounders are bigger then the americans.

    • @thebiglightbulb1457
      @thebiglightbulb1457 5 років тому

      Best movie ref ever

  • @bunnybro5977
    @bunnybro5977 3 роки тому +102

    Derek: so how much is it worth?
    Europeans: it's priceless
    Americans: about $100,000 apiece

    • @spacexvanityprojectslimite3315
      @spacexvanityprojectslimite3315 3 роки тому

      so thats £90,000 british

    • @Alice.59
      @Alice.59 3 роки тому +2

      Rick : best I can do is 3$ , and I'm taking a risk here ...

    • @saftschinken2353
      @saftschinken2353 3 роки тому +1

      Well the originals are probably priceless. The new ones are 100k

    • @Rybakov22
      @Rybakov22 2 роки тому +2

      Original are "Priceless" because of added cultural value.
      New ones, despite being made from the same materials, are much cheaper.
      This is antiquariat for you.

    • @moondust2365
      @moondust2365 2 роки тому

      @@Rybakov22 True. Of course, it's also because as time progresses, some materials are easier to mine due to better innovation, while other materials are harder to find because we're running out of them in nature. Then there's inflation.

  • @nuil501
    @nuil501 4 роки тому +1

    FANTASTIC !! US was metric since 18 hundreds !! I could never wonder that. Btw, Dr. Abbott is very nice. Very didactical video, thanks for sharing;

    • @GH-oi2jf
      @GH-oi2jf 3 роки тому

      He is not a PhD.

  • @cochaviz
    @cochaviz 7 років тому +525

    You mean: "the American 2.20462262 Pounds"

    • @adeelrehman7692
      @adeelrehman7692 7 років тому +8

      Zohar Cochavi pounds are proportional to newtons, not kg.

    • @cochaviz
      @cochaviz 7 років тому +10

      The bloak said that imperial units are defined in terms of metric units. Why would a measurement of weight be defined in terms of a force, which in itself is defined in terms of metric (SI) units and thus the kilogram. Seems pretty far-fetched to me

    • @chikchikboom1
      @chikchikboom1 7 років тому

      Zohar Cochavi bloak?

    • @cochaviz
      @cochaviz 7 років тому

      I'm sorry for using that word/term xD
      I mean dr. Patrick Abbott

    • @cochaviz
      @cochaviz 7 років тому +1

      The Wikipedia article 'Pound' refers to a pound as a measurement of mass and includes this citation:
      The yard or the metre shall be the unit of measurement of length and the pound or the kilogram shall be the unit of measurement of mass by reference to which any measurement involving a measurement of length or mass shall be made in the United Kingdom; and- (a) the yard shall be 0.9144 metre exactly; (b) the pound shall be 0.45359237 kilogram exactly.
      - Weights and Measures Act, 1963, Section 1(1)
      Or am I just not getting it?

  • @pierrechami237
    @pierrechami237 7 років тому +155

    K4 and K20
    "coincidence"

    • @bowman0096
      @bowman0096 7 років тому +5

      Pierre Chami four'n twenty meat pie?

    • @OrbitalSP2
      @OrbitalSP2 7 років тому +11

      K9 was based on a dog that weighted 1kg.

    • @Powerracer251
      @Powerracer251 7 років тому +4

      Smoke Weed 'Erry Day

    • @Powerracer251
      @Powerracer251 7 років тому

      Just get Randy to create the international prototype.

    • @ishanr8697
      @ishanr8697 7 років тому +2

      I don't get it. 24 hours in a day?
      "Four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie"
      ...?

  • @ZXLMaster
    @ZXLMaster 9 місяців тому +1

    Mass is supposed to be a method of substance definition, which is independent of gravity/weight. The planet has been increasing in mass and therefore in gravity. Mass needs to be able to be defined in terms that do not rely upon gravity.

  • @jojobeanproductions1229
    @jojobeanproductions1229 3 роки тому +3

    American schools use Celsius or Kelvin when measuring temperature
    American nutrition labels use grams and Calories (same thing as Kcal)

  • @vincentb9827
    @vincentb9827 7 років тому +1121

    The metric system is one of the best legacy of the french revolution to humanity

    • @peterfireflylund
      @peterfireflylund 5 років тому +61

      Just about the only good thing to come out of the French revolution and its aftermath!
      (And in reality, most of the work was actually done before the revolution.)

    • @313power
      @313power 5 років тому +59

      You forgot about choping head off bourgeoisie.

    • @TheNachoOne
      @TheNachoOne 5 років тому +74

      Peter Lund the best legacy was actually the french civil code. It was a turning point for all legal systems in the world outside of the anglo-world (yes, they are always swimming against the stream).

    • @volo870
      @volo870 5 років тому +7

      And Bistros.

    • @psdaengr911
      @psdaengr911 5 років тому +3

      One head off is the same in either system.

  • @KyleLi
    @KyleLi 7 років тому +1387

    Americans, the only people to promise to do something and forgetting that they did it.

    • @MonMalthias
      @MonMalthias 7 років тому +181

      The United States of Amnesia.

    • @lsd6716
      @lsd6716 7 років тому +18

      Brexit

    • @theoldone2089
      @theoldone2089 7 років тому +11

      Kyle Li *America don't blame the people

    • @lsd6716
      @lsd6716 7 років тому +10

      Brexit as in, Britain also promised to exit the EU if its citizens voted for it, and it remains to be seen if they'll actually do it.. (spoiler- it's highly unlikely)

    • @mr_sn4k3s
      @mr_sn4k3s 7 років тому +18

      Article 50 has been signed, what are you on about?

  • @andli461
    @andli461 4 роки тому

    A lot of people needs to see this. 👌

  • @dethkl0k
    @dethkl0k 2 роки тому +1

    The World: We're gunna give you 4;20
    America: Hold my joint

  • @hechanova07
    @hechanova07 7 років тому +253

    I really would like to thank Veritasium for reminding me that THE kilogram standards were made of platinum/iridium. This came out as one of the questions in the chemical engineering board exams! MWAH MWAH MWAH.

  • @LoneWolfsVoice
    @LoneWolfsVoice 5 років тому +4

    I work in Weights and Measures in Illinois glad to see videos out there giving folks an idea of what we do.

  • @carlos77121
    @carlos77121 5 років тому +28

    Watching this in 2018.
    *The whole thing is actually happening.*

  • @yggtor3961
    @yggtor3961 2 роки тому

    Are those objects still in use today with the work done on finding the "perfect" Kg shown in your others videos?

  • @Anklejbiter
    @Anklejbiter 7 років тому +15

    7:39 "They went different weighs"
    Thank you for observing a less than pointless arbitrary unintentional pun.
    My job here is done.

    • @HowTwoKill
      @HowTwoKill 7 років тому +1

      oboi oboi that pun actually hurt me mentally and physically

  • @ChristOMalley
    @ChristOMalley 7 років тому +6

    Planck's constant
    The researchers placed a known mass on one end of the scale and then counterbalanced it by sending an electric current through a movable coil of wire suspended in a magnetic field. They then used that electromagnetic force to measure Planck's constant down to an accuracy of 34 parts per billion.

    • @stijn1113
      @stijn1113 7 років тому

      But if you do that, that defined mass is therefore defined in kg itself and therefore depends on the constant itself which wouldnt work.

  • @cho4d
    @cho4d 4 роки тому +11

    "Are you allowed to say that!?" ".... it's true...." i like this guy :D

  • @GhostHostMemories
    @GhostHostMemories 4 роки тому

    love it, dude reping the steelers lanyard.

  • @weedandwine
    @weedandwine 7 років тому +43

    I manage building construction for a living and wish we would use metrics. It would be an easier system.

    • @acchaladka
      @acchaladka 5 років тому

      weedandwine Same, from the land of heat pumps.

  • @RU-zm7wj
    @RU-zm7wj 5 років тому +241

    100 centimeters= 1 meter and 1000 meters=1 kilometer. 1000 grams=1 kilogram and 1000 kilograms=1 metric ton. There... ya'll know the metric system now. Everything is just more zeros, it's that easy.

    • @tmd9412
      @tmd9412 5 років тому +37

      1000 Kilograms can also be called a Megagram

    • @owlstead
      @owlstead 5 років тому +15

      Actually a lot of things are measured in millimeters (mm) so we can divide by 1000 from the standard meter, just like we do with the weights.

    • @DrD0000M
      @DrD0000M 5 років тому +6

      Not everyone is so dumb they can only work with base 10 conversions.

    • @tmd9412
      @tmd9412 5 років тому +99

      @@DrD0000M But you've gotta admit, base 10 makes the math a lot simpler

    • @bobjones1432
      @bobjones1432 5 років тому +103

      @@DrD0000M It isn't that we can only work with base 10, it's that it is far simpler, easier, quicker and gets it out of the way so you can do more important stuff. That and every single person can very easily do base 10.

  • @gillesmatheronpro
    @gillesmatheronpro 2 роки тому

    2:53 where did you get that map of Paris ? Not quite sure, but it probably was printed prior to 1920. As it shows a belt of fortified walls ("Les fortifications") which ended being fully demolished in 1929, after nearly a decade of efforts.
    I invite everyone staying in Paris to take a ride in the beautiful garden surounding the storage bunker of the prototype-kilogram, in the parisian suburb of Sèvres ("say-vre"). This park, named Parc de Saint-Cloud ("sain-kloo"), is one of the cutest exemples of XVIth century countryside-like gardens, with their typical "à la française" designs (geometric shapes, showing "the dominance of Man upon nature"). It used to be the home of "Monsieur", brother of King Louis XIV, and is now a public park with lots to see and enjoy.
    The BIPM (Bureau International des Poids et Mesures = International Bureau of Measures and Weights) ; the nearby Manufacture royale de Sèvres (a school and "living museum" for the finest in arts and craft of ceramics, producing to bestest of them) ; the sports club Le Stade français (founded 1883, featuring 22 different sports from track-and-field to rugby or rowing) ; several gastronomic restaurants ; "La Grande Cascade" (a huge garden waterfall, legacy from the royal era) ; the annual "Le Grand feu" (largest fireworks event in Europe, as a tribute to those set up by the "Sun King" Louis XIV), etc. etc.
    The Parc de Saint-Cloud is a must-see for anyone enjoying the nicest places. And even tough not exactly in Paris, this place is contiguous of the capital, with bus line 72 going straight to the main entrance grid of the garden... can't be any easier, just a 45 minutes ride from the Hotel de Ville (Paris City hall) or Place du Chatelet, or 25 from the Tour Eiffel (you all know about). Such a ride for the price of a bus ticket... how about it ?
    Hope you'll have time to see the "kilogramme-étalon" (litteraly the "stallion-kilogram") next time, live in the basement of the BIPM.
    This concludes our little "touristrium" interlude...
    Great video, as always !!!

  • @fhajji
    @fhajji 2 роки тому +2

    So before the kilogram was redefined, a change in mass of the physical Standard Kilogram meant that everything ever weighed suddenly had a different nominal mass. Kind of like everytime the US dollar gets inflated by the FED, all prices worldwide (in all other currencies as well) go up. We really need to redefine money in terms of some physical constant like with the kilogram (it used to be mass of gold).

    • @IllidanS4
      @IllidanS4 Рік тому

      Well it's more like you have less money than before if that happens. The issue is that all money that is owned is only nominal, and not fixed based on its value. There are however "global" monetary units, WCUs, that attempt to fix it based on the average GDP.

  • @TheDetherageDialect
    @TheDetherageDialect 7 років тому +4

    6:14
    I knew there was more to the deflate gate scandal. Brady was just trying to find those launch codes...

  • @mammothfire
    @mammothfire 7 років тому +355

    "Connected iridium to radioactivity and flew off the handle"
    That's (any) checkpoint security for you. Not just the TSA. If playing secret service with ear pieces and uniforms, and being presumptuous twats doesn't pay enough, it sure strokes the ego. If they were smarter, they'd have a different job.

    • @alexstixx
      @alexstixx 5 років тому +23

      Security Theater.

    • @randominternetprofile8270
      @randominternetprofile8270 5 років тому +12

      @@organicallymaz it sure sounds scary and dangerous though 😂

    • @chibani-
      @chibani- 5 років тому +10

      could be an international border service not just TSA but ya know let's say Canadian,French German or even Urugyan for all we know.
      ....But yeah i suspect TSA made specific requirements to employ Douchebag

    • @travelingrandom3106
      @travelingrandom3106 5 років тому +2

      Well , i do travel a lot and from time to time i go through the US and so far they've been very professional. Sure there's idiots everywhere i guess...

    • @LakshmananLM
      @LakshmananLM 5 років тому +4

      A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Perhaps someone confused Iridium with Radium, which is radioactive.

  • @flybobbie1449
    @flybobbie1449 3 роки тому

    Certainly my generation in UK are happy to use any measurement. In my draughting days we used both, depending on the customer.
    If i measure something and it's 6 inches i will use that. If it's 150mm i will use that, whatever is convenient for me to remember.
    For instance UK flloor tiles might be 1 foot square, but box will say 305mm square because law says must be sold in metric.

  • @dougthedonkey1805
    @dougthedonkey1805 4 роки тому +4

    1:59 the guy in blue is how I look waiting for my pizza rolls in the microwave

  • @clonatul1
    @clonatul1 7 років тому +33

    You should do a video on how every si unit is defined

    • @AnhTrieu90
      @AnhTrieu90 5 років тому +1

      I think Sixty Symbols has already made that video.

    • @scotthenrie5674
      @scotthenrie5674 4 роки тому +1

      1 inch was originally defined as the length of 3 dried barley grains placed end to end. They just later updated it to be based off of the glorious metric system.

  • @eliadbu
    @eliadbu 6 років тому +4

    1:18 THANK YOU that I was saying about those units all the time .

  • @valrina
    @valrina 5 років тому +4

    I love how he says that to this day the kg is defined by the big K , but they just changed that yesterday :D.

  • @polarmouse3943
    @polarmouse3943 Рік тому

    What a great narrator!

  • @pinoaktepe8663
    @pinoaktepe8663 7 років тому +172

    Metric system ftw

  • @Wolfkiller
    @Wolfkiller 7 років тому +12

    The Terminator's hand and CPU had less security than this.

    • @jimmygrey6848
      @jimmygrey6848 7 років тому

      Cyberdyne really should've beefed up their security measures.

  • @leosypher9993
    @leosypher9993 2 роки тому +5

    I live in America and I actually grew up with the metric system, the only imperial measurement I can really estimate well is miles per hour, I really think its only a matter of time before we start using metric for everything

    • @casey6578
      @casey6578 Рік тому

      @Mac's Music & Art I can't help but feel like that's a friend problem and not a measurement problem

  • @masosz
    @masosz 2 роки тому

    I am subscribed, but I did not get the answer on the last question of the video - how it was redefined...

  • @Doriandotslash
    @Doriandotslash 7 років тому +164

    Imperial is ancient and dated. It shouldn't be used anymore. Using different units for measuring short or long distances (inches/feet/yards/miles) or weights (ounces, pounds) or volumes (cups, fluid ounces, gallons) just doesn't make sense when they aren't easily compared/converted (How many feet in 0.5 miles? How many yards in 2/5th of a Mile?). With metric, it's very easy, even with more complex fractions. I know it's difficult to change, but it needs to be done, especially when there are only 3 countries in the world who still use it.

    • @d.n.3652
      @d.n.3652 6 років тому +4

      Doriandotslash here in America it's simple to us. Since most people don't need to use metrics in their daily lives and are use to imperial then there really is no need to change because why should we if we don't have to. I mean yeah we use metrics here and there like in science and math class so it's not like we're completely unaware of it

    • @bananian
      @bananian 6 років тому +40

      Shiny Kingdra
      It would make construction way easier if we all use the same units between the civil, architectural and mechanicall designers.

    • @TheAntibozo
      @TheAntibozo 5 років тому +13

      We don't use Imperial in the U.S. We use the U.S. customary units.

    • @minecraftminertime
      @minecraftminertime 5 років тому +6

      Imperial is as ancient and dated as the metric system!

    • @TheDraykwing
      @TheDraykwing 5 років тому +10

      even better, the US needs to be so special, that they invented their own measuring system to make sure they stand out.
      which is basically the way the States think about everything in the world, fortunately many people are turning around when they find out their ways aren't superior. now if only the governing bodies around the world learned that

  • @bios546
    @bios546 7 років тому +7

    Hi, Derek!
    Can you please make a video about that explains about *_NEGATIVE MASS_*, its effects on the physics as we know it, the relation with the Higgs field, the potential for evolution of physics and the mankind from this concept, the degree of intuitiveness to this concept and the similarities between the discoveries of this and relativity
    thanks! and I really appreciate the work put into making these videos

  • @xdazamx
    @xdazamx 2 роки тому

    1:57 was not expecting that dude to be there ahah

  • @davidplatenkamp
    @davidplatenkamp 6 років тому +4

    What's priceless is that amidst airlocks, vacuum chambers and proprietary transport cases, the bell jar's marked with dymo tape.