Date:  Wed, 27 Sep 1995 09:40:32 -0500

From:  Molly Dickmeyer <dickmeye[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]JBLSMTP.PHL.LRPUB.COM>

Subject: candy bars and measurements -Reply



>measurement what do you call the system of measurement that

>americans use (i.e., the non-metric system). it seems to me i've

>heard "english", but this isn't in my dictionaries. i think

>"imperial" refers to another system altogether (isn't an imperial

>gallon different than a u.s. gallon?). does the system even have a

>name?

>thanks in advance, lynne



Lynne:

I've been looking for an elegant way of stating "non-metric" for

years--it comes up every time I need an author to confirm a metric

conversion (I have yet to figure out to what measurement system "two

finger breadths from the sternum" belongs). _Websters_ indicates

"U.S. equivalent" as opposed to metric. My _Dorland's Medical_ has

conversion tables that call it the "British-US system".

"Conventional" cannot be used (at least, with scientific precision)

because it is used in opposition to SI, or standard international

units--which is a whole 'nother ball game. I prefer to use the term

associated with the type of measurement. For example: in temperature,

it would be "Fahrenheit"; in weight, it would be apothecaries',

Avoirdupois, or Troy; in length or distance, there doesn't appear to

be an alternative other than "US or British".



But I'm always looking for some new alternatives!!



Molly.

dickmeye[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]phl.lrpub.com