"marvin" <marvin@pissoff.com> wrote in message
news:903e0f4b3ccccdfc23956089f40727d1@news.1usenet.com...

"Douglas D. Anderson" <dda@rr.rochester.com> wrote in message
news:Sa6Gb.51403$JW3.45068@twister.nyroc.rr.com...

"Tommy" <tormyleprechaun@indigo.ie> wrote

"fungus" > Meter

-----
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=meter

Meter: ...The international standard unit of length, approximately
equivalent to 39.37 inches. It was redefined in 1983 as the

traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.

Metre
-----
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=metre

Metre: Variant of meter, chiefly British (US "meter"), The
fundamental SI unit of length.



So there it is, *both* are acceptable as the SI unit of
length. Brits prefer "metre", Americans prefer "meter".

Its a metric yard, lets leave it at that or how would 39.39 inches

you

(up yer other end)
Cheers

Unfortunately it's not 39.39 inches. Meter or metre, the SI standard
meter or metre if you prefer, comes to 39.37008 inches to 5 decimal
places, which does not round to 39.39 in any sort of arithmetic, new
or old. If the SI had been a bit more alert, they would have totally
redefined the metre as 1/300,000,000 th of the distance traveled by
light in a vacuum in one second exactly, making all sorts of

far simpler, and creating some brisk business for the makers and

of measuring sticks. And if the Americans would drop the old English
system of measures long since obsolete in Britain, they might be able
to land on Mars properly, and accomplish other practical feats.

it's defined as a given number of wavelengths of red light from a

lamp isn't it - don't you recall halliday and resnick?

"Definitions of the Meter: Over the years the definition of the meter has

several times:

1793 - 1/10 000 000 of the distance from the pole to the equator.

1795 - Provisional meter bar constructed in brass.

1799 - Definitive prototype meter bars constructed in platinum.

1889 - International prototype meter bar in platinum-iridium, cross

1906 - 1 000 000 / 0.643 846 96 wavelengths in air of the red line of the
cadmium spectrum.

1960 - 1 650 763.73 wavelengths in vacuum of the radiation corresponding

the transition between levels 2p10 and 5d5 of the krypton 86 atom.

1983 - Length traveled by light in vacuum during 1/299 792 458 of a

Fundamentals of Physics - Part 1
D. Halliday, R. Resnick & J. Walker
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
New York (1997)

On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 01:54:11 GMT, "marvin" <marvin@pissoff.com> wrote:

it's defined as a given number of wavelengths of red light from a cadmium
lamp isn't it - don't you recall halliday and resnick?

Not any more it isn't. One needs to Keep Current.

"Moderate" <medium.rare@buttocks.commie.bastards> wrote in message

On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 01:43:14 GMT, "Douglas D. Anderson"

"Tommy" <tormyleprechaun@indigo.ie> wrote

"fungus" > Meter

-----
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=meter

Meter: ...The international standard unit of length, approximately
equivalent to 39.37 inches. It was redefined in 1983 as the distance
traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
Metre
-----
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=metre

Metre: Variant of meter, chiefly British (US "meter"), The
fundamental SI unit of length.
So there it is, *both* are acceptable as the SI unit of
length. Brits prefer "metre", Americans prefer "meter".

Its a metric yard, lets leave it at that or how would 39.39 inches suit you
(up yer other end)
Cheers

Unfortunately it's not 39.39 inches. Meter or metre, the SI standard
meter or metre if you prefer, comes to 39.37008 inches to 5 decimal
places, which does not round to 39.39 in any sort of arithmetic, new
or old. If the SI had been a bit more alert, they would have totally
redefined the metre as 1/300,000,000 th of the distance traveled by
light in a vacuum in one second exactly, making all sorts of calculations
far simpler, and creating some brisk business for the makers and sellers
of measuring sticks. And if the Americans would drop the old English
system of measures long since obsolete in Britain, they might be able
to land on Mars properly, and accomplish other practical feats.

you've just said something important.
you've noticed that Americans have corrupted the English language on the
pre-text of the American Revolution, yet have kept the English Imperial
measurement system. the only other country doing so is Liberia.
what you need to do is get metric and bring your language rules back into
line with Commonwealth English.
that would be a start. there are a number of other changes to be made after
that too. then you will be approaching international acceptability.

That's quite an observation from a citizen of a country which is the
object of international pity. Whenever South Africa is mentioned,
in the international media, it is because of AIDS and FAS.

Some time, on or about: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 22:37:09 +0200, "Moderate"
<medium.rare@buttocks.commie.bastards> was criminally insane in my
professional opinion when they claimed the following balderdash:

what you need to do is get metric and bring your language rules back into
line with Commonwealth English.
that would be a start. there are a number of other changes to be made after
that too. then you will be approaching international acceptability.

Who the ***** cares about that?

Some time, on or about: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 22:37:09 +0200, "Moderate"
<medium.rare@buttocks.commie.bastards> was criminally insane in my
professional opinion when they claimed the following balderdash:

<snip>

what you need to do is get metric and bring your language rules back into
line with Commonwealth English.

that would be a start. there are a number of other changes to be made after
that too. then you will be approaching international acceptability.

Who the ***** cares about that?