Us Standard To Metric Conversions - What You May Not Know

By Author: Alex Schubow
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The Metric system was a long time in the making, a culmination of years of consideration by many different countries to attempt to create a universal measurement system that would unite the world. From the beginning it was clear that it would take a lot of conflict and compromise to create one generalized measurement system. The metric vs us standard and the conversion to one system is as much a part of history as the formation of the United States itself.

Early in its history, the United States utilized the British Imperial System of measurement. The British, in turn, had evolved their measurement system from a number of Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Roman units employed locally around Europe. The pound, gallon and foot were commonly different depending on where you were. Finally the British attempted to establish standards, and tagged them with the name of Winchester in order to denote the capital of Britain at the time.

American colonists inherited the British Imperial System as a result of them being subjects of the British empire. France was the country that developed and refined the metric system in the 1700s, ...
... but England and American colonies stuck with its own measurements. The constitution originally had allowed for changing, but Thomas Jefferson didn't want to change the system they were using because he was afraid of the cost associated with sending a delegation to France for measurement verification. Also, were not getting along with France after Jay's Treaty was ratified in 1795; the French attacked American merchant ships. France didn't invite the U.S. to Paris to learn about the metric system as a result. Still things would not likely change. In 1821 John Quincy Adams determined that the U.S. would keep its own system. This time they feared that Napolean would fail in his reign and France would go down the tubes.

After the Civil War the United States did begin to recognize the metric system because everyone else in the world had adopted these measurements. The U.S. received prototypes of the metric measurements and finally agreed on conversion factors of 1yard = 0.9144 meter, 1 pound-mass=0.45359237 kg. So the U.S has recognized the metric system for more than 145 years, but it is not being used practically.

The people of the United States never fully converted to the metric system. Lawmakers didn't make it compulsory and being stubborn and resistant to change, Americans continued to use their own system of measurement instead of the metric system. The Metric Conversion Act in 1975 seemed to be the end of it, but the ten year deadline didn't happen.Now there are more reasons that the United States is slow to convert to the metric system. One of the main reasons is the sheer cost of making the change now. What seems like a simple process of changing a few numbers on a blueprint or in a manual is a multi-million dollar expense. One NASA engineer recently guessed the figure at $370 million to convert the drawings, documents and software for the space shuttle to SI units.

Metric vs standard conversion isn't an issue of changing numbers, however. It involves changing the measurement of thousands of tiny parts, of relabeling and redefining the way that construction workers perform their jobs. While pharmaceutical companies changed their products--all of their products--to reflect the metric system, other industries, such as food sales, tools and transportation, went "soft metric," meaning that the metric vs standard conversion is simplified with the product showing both U.S. customary measures and metric values.

Contractors and designers are often blindsided by the metric vs us standard and find it easy to buy incorrect parts based on the variance of the metric system from the American standards. ASMC.net offers fasteners and other building supplies in all measurement systems, so whether you are building to meet metric standards or prefer to follow the American system, they've got you covered.

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