Métrification
The metrification is the operation by which a country, or any other social entity, carries out a transition from sound system of measuring units towards the international Système of units.
Many a measuring units was used on a regional level in answer to the needs related to an human activity. A system of units thus developed in British Isles. Because of the importance of the American, political or economic penetration British then, this system is used or known in more than 140 Pays Anglophone S.
In 1824, this system was codified under the name of imperial Système of units. In 2004, even if majority of the countries resulting from the British colonies, and the the United Kingdom itself, decided to adopt the Metric system, one notes that the transition is effective only within the scientific circles and technical.
Passage du Anglo-Saxon world with the metric units
To the the United Kingdom, in Ireland, to the Canada and the the United States of America the transition towards the Metric system was launched on the basis from voluntariate as from the years 1970. It results from it that the Anglo-Saxon units remain largely used for the activities directly interesting the general public or the consumer: road signs, Meteorology, indications length, surface, volume, mass on the products of great consumption, etc
Métrification in the anglophone countries
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the United Kingdom obtained European Community two tolerances: the road panels remain made out in thousand S and the beer sold in Pinte S.
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In the United States the government obliges the federal agencies to use metric measurements, but those are often converted starting from the imperial measures, which leads to indications of the style: entry to 76,2 m (250 ft).
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Until January 2005 in Irish Republic, the indications of distances between cities were in Kilomètre S, but the speed limits were in miles by hour.
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Among the most industrialized Anglo-Saxon countries, it seems that the Canada, the Australia and the New Zealand are most advanced in the generalized adoption of the metric system.
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Because of the established standards de facto by the United States in certain activities such as the aerial navigation or, more recently, the Informatique one notes even a penetration of certain Anglo-Saxon units in countries using the metric system: the dimension of a screen of monitor is expressed in inch S, the resolution of a scanner in point per inch, etc
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Because of the difficulties of conversion within the system, one notes, much more than with the metric system, an adequacy between a unit and a use. Thus if the dimension of the standard sheet of paper A4 is expressed in France that is to say by 21 × 29,7 cm or by 210 × 297 mm, with the the United States standard dimension is of 8 ⅛ × 11 in and it will never be expressed in foot.
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When it is necessary to express fractions of units, one can is to join two units (foot + inch, for example), to use fractions of units (⅛, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, etc) or, more recently, one saw appearing the tenth of units (ex: 20.2 in, it “.” indicate the decimal)
Imperial system of units
The imperial System of units goes back to 1824 and was intended for the use of the whole of the British Empire. This system redefined the values of the traditional units without creating new ones.
The United States of America, independent on this date, did not adopt the same values from where sometimes important differences (approximately 10 % on the Gallon) or sufficient to create incompatibilities (dimensions of the screws and nuts in precision mechanics).
Anglo-Saxon international system
The United States, the United Kingdom and all the the Commonwealth set up a compromise in 1959. All the units were defined starting from the units of the metric system. This is why it is now refers to one mile international, an international foot, etc
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