MKS & ENGLISH UNITS Page 61

Throughout most of the modern era of technology and science, two systems
of measuring units have prevailed, MKS and English. The English system
measures with units of inches, feet, pounds, and degrees Fahrenheit. The MKS
system uses meters, Newtons, kilograms, and degrees Centigrade. Both use
the same measurement of time as well as measures for electricity: volt,
ampere, watt, coulomb, etc.
After the end of World War 2, all major English speaking nations
converted to the MKS system except for onethe United States of America.
Although it has taken many years for citizens outside of USA to become
familiar with the MKS system, they have now done so.
Our school system aims at preparing some students for jobs in the
professions of mathematics, science, and engineering. This requires an
emphasis on the MKS system. The problem with this is that students cannot
easily relate what they learn in school with what they see in everyday life.
Unless they do go on to higher levels of education, they will begin to think
that what they learned in school is not relevant to the real world. The result
will ultimately be to not encourage children to seek careers in science and
technology. Do our political and business leaders understand the differences
between the two systems of measurements?

ENGLISH UNITS: The foot is a
measure of an early Englishmans shoe
about size 10. Three of these became a yard.
For land measurements, the English had
used the furlong (660 feet) for decades.
Multiply 660 by 8 to get 5280 which is the
number of feet in a mile. The foot is
measured in inches, 12 per foot. Each inch
was subdivided into parts that could be
found with a series of half angleslike
dividing an angle into two equal parts (1/2,
1/4,1/8,1/16,1/32,1/64). Angles are in
degrees or (sometimes) radians.
The unit of weight as measured with an
ordinary scale is the pound which is 16
ounces. The ton is 2000 pounds. The unit of
force is also in pounds as, for example, the
force used to push an automobile along the
road. The unit of mass is called the slug
which few people use. Weigh an object in
pounds. Divide this weight by the
acceleration due to gravity of 32 feet per
second per second to get the mass in slugs.
On the moon, weight will be less than that
on earth but the moons gravity is also less
so that the mass calculates the same.
The measure of temperature is
Fahrenheit. Water freezes at 32 degrees and
boils at 212 degrees (at sea level). The
absolute scale (Rankine) uses the same
degree interval but starts at zero with water
freezing at 491.67 degrees R. In the MKS
system, water freezes at zero degrees
Celsius. The absolute scale is in degrees
Kelvin with water freezing at 273.15
degrees K. There are exactly 9 degrees F for
each 5 degrees C.
In the English system, heat is measured
in British thermal units, or BTU. One
BTU is the heat needed to raise the
temperature of one pint of water by one
degrees F. On earth, one pint weighs one
pound. One therm is the heat of 100,000
BTU. Your gas heating bill may be in terms
of therms.
Area is measured in square feet or square
meters or miles. Volume is measured in
gallons or quarts or teaspoons, etc.
 THE MKS SYSTEM: The measure of
length is the meter that is divided into 100
centimeters and 1000 millimeters.
Everything tends to be in decimal notation.
The kilometer is the basic measure of longer
distances instead of the miles that the
English system uses. Temperature is in
degrees Celsius or Kelvin. Angles, time, and
electrical units are the same as in the English
system.
Heat is measured in gram-calories or
kilo-calories. When related to food, the kilo-
calorie is assumed but the kilo is not
included in the name. One gram-calorie of
heat increases the temperature of one cubic
centimeter of water by one degree C. The
kilo-calorie raises the temperature of one
liter of water by one degree C.
Volume is measured in liters or cubic
centimeters or cubic meters. One liter is
1000 cubic centimeters.
In our English system world, we often
use MKS units for lengths and weights. The
reason is simpleit is easier to use a
decimal system in most cases. For example,
add 1-3/8 inches and 15-15/32 inches. Not
easy! Multiplication is even harder.
The most difficult conceptual problem
faced by a person schooled in the English
system concerns the difference between
mass and force. The gram or kilogram is not
a measure of force or weight. It is a measure
of mass! Force is measured in Newtons (N).
(In heat measurements, using volumes of
water instead of mass avoids confusion.)
The formula F=ma says that force equals
mass times acceleration. In weighing an
object, a=g is the acceleration of gravity,
equal to 9.8 meters per second per second.
Mass is in grams or in kilograms. A one
kilogram block of metal is stored in a safe
place and can be used as a basic measure. It
will actually weigh a little differently on
various places on the earth which means that
its physical existence becomes the basis for
fundamental measurements. This standard
block weighs about 2.203 pounds on earth.
What is the weight of a one-kilogram
mass? In F=mg find, F= 1.0 Kg times g
which is the acceleration on earth of 9.8
meters per second per second.. Thus
F=weight=1*9.8 = 9.8N.The dimensions of
the Newton are Kg*meters/sec2. (There are
100,000 dynes in one N.)
If a person steps on a scale that shows
weight in kilograms, the reading is simply
wrong! Let us assume that we define a new
kind of kilogram called Kge equal to 2.2
pounds. A weight of 60 Kge is the same as
60*2.2=132 pounds. The common kilogram
scale should read in Kge!
What is the actual weight of a person
with a mass of 60 Kg? Multiply by 9.8 to get
588 N. (Reverse this to find m=588/9.8.= 60
Kg.)
Caution is needed in using the MKS
weight measure. If one does not go on to
study more advanced topics in physics, the
basic question of the difference between
mass and force need not be confronted. But
otherwise, one must know that grams are a
measure of mass and not force (or weight).
Even the Europeans can be confused
because they might see Kg on their weight
scale. If the scale is labeled Kge and not
simply Kg, the confusion disappears.
(Confusion would be reduced if the names
were swappedkilograms for force and
Newtons for mass.)
SOME EQUIVALENTS: For those
wanting to better understand topics in
general physics, it is suggested that a book
meant for the high school student be
purchased. Costs are low and the level of
sophistication is limited.
g = 9.8 m/sec2 = 32.144 ft/sec2.
1 meter = 1.094 yards
1 kilometer = 0.6214 mile
1 liter = 2.113 pints
1 kilograme = 2.205 pounds
5 degrees C = 9 degrees F
1 kilo-calorie = 3.968 Btu
1 gram-calorie = 3.087 ft-lbs
1 horsepower = 550 ft-lbs/sec
1 watt-sec =1 joule
1 slug = 1.459 Kge
Note: Kge is defined only here.
Page 62