From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Tue Oct 15 2002 - 00:56:42 MDT
Spike writes
> here is
> a tip that will help you not goof the Gc and miss
> the answer by a factor of 32. Simply throw out the
> unit pound mass. As soon as you see pounds mass,
> immediately convert to slugs.
By God, as soon as they were forced to come
up with "slugs" those damned stubborn English
types should have seen that they had been given
a Sign that they were on the Wrong Track! And
they should have instantly adopted the metric
system.
Slugs, indeed!
> Then go ahead and use the pound force as
> the amount of force needed to accelerate
> one slug one foot per second^2.
So it's absolutely *definite* that the pound
force is the weight (force) of one pound
against Earth's gravity?
> When the problem is finished, convert
> slugs back to pounds mass, if necessary.
I am stubborn, and I am old. And I am not
so flexible any more. I refuse to touch
slugs. Or to have *anything* to do with
them one way or the other.
Would you *please* say how many pounds (as
force) is equivalent to one newton?
Would you please have pity on me, and have
mercy upon my utter humiliation, and tell
me how many foot-pounds (force times
distance) equal one joule (i.e. one
newton-meter)? Please save my sanity,
or what little is left of it.
Thanks,
Lee
> That way, all your equations work the same,
> regardless of their being posed in English
> or sensible units. A pound works like a
> big newton and a slug works like a big kilogram.
>
> Honest, just do it that way and you will always
> get the right answers. American engineering
> students need to learn only one system. spike
>
>
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