Category Archives: Science

Prospects improve for food energy labelling using SI units

One of our readers wrote to Sainsbury’s to ask that guideline daily amounts (GDAs) of energy shown on packaging should be shown in kilojoules, the SI unit, as well as or instead of kilocalories. He has received a reply that … Continue reading

Posted in Consumer affairs, Health, Law, Science | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The generation gap

In his recent article “Why I …”,  Ronnie Cohen looked at the present to explain why he believes the UK should complete the transition to metric units. However, some of those who commented on his article also looked back. In … Continue reading

Posted in Education, General, History, Science, Technical | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Why I became involved with measurement matters

One of our readers has written to explain why he became interested in the campaign to complete Britain’s prolonged metric changeover.

Posted in Consumer affairs, Education, Health, Road signs, Science, Technical, Transport | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Pound-inch units finally give way to metric in space

It looks as if astronauts, cosmonauts, or yuhangyuan as we will soon learn to call them, will before long have to cope with only one measurement system in space as the US winds down its programme and China takes its … Continue reading

Posted in Science, Technical, Views from abroad | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

The BBC explains its position on measurement units

A reader of Metric Views has received an unusually comprehensive reply to a complaint about the units used in the the programme ‘Bang goes the theory’. We are posting the letter in full as we feel it may be of interest to … Continue reading

Posted in General, Media, Science | Tagged , , , | 78 Comments

Remarks by Eric Schmidt throw up a paradox

The executive chairman of Google remarked recently that Britain needs to “bring arts and science back together”. But the USA, where he is based, is the most backward country in the world for sharing of measurement units between scientists and … Continue reading

Posted in Education, General, Science, Views from abroad | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

"Can the economy survive without a national measurement system?"

This was the question posed at a recent seminar organised by the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee in Portcullis House, opposite the Palace of Westminster. Typically, however, the keynote speeches skirted around the central problem.

Posted in General, Science | Tagged , | 39 Comments