Names of long numbers

[Mad Dan Eccles]

Australian cars give you consumption in litres/100 km. I found it easier to grok by doing a mental mpg conversion on the fly!

[NigelJK]

My old Jaguar Sovereign (1993) had a switch on the dash which let me switch between the two systems for the digital readout. The readout could itself be switched between KPH (or MPH in imperial),Km/Litre instant (MPG instant), Km/L Average (MPG average) and Range Km (Range Miles).

As for the numbers I remember that for a long time we Brits resisted the US invasion by calling it a 'financial billion' for 1000 million, which when I come to think of it showed how arrogant our financiers had got, and the rest is, as they say, history.

[Eric Walch]

It would be a good idea for Obama to switch to the continental European numbers. Than he could reduce his national debt from 16,5 Trillion to just 16,5 Billion overnight.

[Cody]

You need El Reg's online standards converter.

[Eric Walch]

You need El Reg's online standards converter.

On the mac we have Widgets. Small programs to do small things. The funny thing about this widgets is that they are written in JavaScript. And that is a language I start to get familiar to.

Default there is a conversion widget were all the conversions are stored in variables. like:

Code: Select all

var Energy = [
	{name:'Btus', 				toBase:linearForm(1055.05585257348),	fromBase:invLinForm(1055.05585257348)},
	{name:'Calories', 			toBase:linearForm(4.1868), 				fromBase:invLinForm(4.1868)},
	{name:'Ergs', 				toBase:invLinForm(10000000.0), 			fromBase:linearForm(10000000.0)},
	{name:'Foot-Pounds', 		toBase:linearForm(1.3558179483314004), 	fromBase:invLinForm(1.3558179483314004)},
	{name:'Joules', 			toBase:linearForm(1.0), 				fromBase:linearForm(1.0)},
	{name:'Kilogram-Calories', 	toBase:linearForm(4186.8), 				fromBase:invLinForm(4186.8)},
	{name:'Kilogram-Meters', 	toBase:linearForm(9.80665), 			fromBase:invLinForm(9.80665)},
	{name:'Kilowatt-Hours', 	toBase:linearForm(3600000.0), 			fromBase:invLinForm(3600000.0)},
	{name:'Newton-Meters', 		toBase:linearForm(1.0), 				fromBase:linearForm(1.0)},
	{name:'Watt-Hours', 		toBase:linearForm(3600.0), 				fromBase:invLinForm(3600.0)}
];

In the past I already added even weirder values myself, like the troy once, that was for some reason missing.

[Thargoid]

You need El Reg's online standards converter.

You bear me to that one Vive la linguine!

[Cody]

<chuckles> Those superior units of measurement explained by a boffin.

[Smivs]

Yes but they haven't heard that the Brontosaurus is no more - it's now the Apatosaurus!

[Diziet Sma]

Only that they talk now about "Great Britain" instead of "England". (Inconsistent name giving because they mean the same)

Umm no.. those are not the same.. "England" is one country. "Great Britain" consists of three countries, and part of a fourth.

[Mad Dan Eccles]

No, Great Britain is three countries. The United Kingdom, on the other hand…

And let's not start on Holland, Netherlands or The Netherlands …

[Zieman]

England, Holland, Great Lands, United Brit-Holland, Nether Kingdom - What a mess!

[Diziet Sma]

No, Great Britain is three countries. The United Kingdom, on the other hand…

I guess that's what comes of my not being Irish..

[Mad Dan Eccles]

It was a lot easier when it was all the British Empire…

[Thargoid]

Give it a couple of years, with Scottish and Welsh devolution plans from their nationalists and parliaments the whole mess may clear itself up a bit, or at least degenerate into a different one.

[Smivs]

Home rule for the Isle of Wight!