English vs. Metric System. Which is better? You decide, but do your research first.
British Imperial System (View the chart below the article for all measurement terms in BIS)
The Metric System (View full article here)
Designed during the French Revolution of the 1790's, the metric system brought order out of the conflicting and confusing traditional systems of weights and measures then being used in Europe. Prior to the introduction of the metric system, it was common for units of length, land area, and weight to vary, not just from one country to another but from one region to another within the same country. As the modern nations were gradually assembled from smaller kingdoms and principalities, confusion simply multiplied. Merchants, scientists, and educated people throughout Europe realized that a uniform system was needed, but it was only in the climate of a complete political upheaval that such a radical change could actually be considered.
The metric system replaces all the "traditional" units, except the units of time and of angle measure, with units satisfying three conditions:
(1) One fundamental unit is defined for each quantity. These units are now defined precisely in the International System of Units.
(2) Multiples and fractions of these fundamental units are created by adding prefixes to the names of the defined units. These prefixes denote powers of ten, so that metric units are always divided into tens, hundreds, thousands, etc. The original prefixes included milli- for 1/1,000, centi- for 1/100, deci- for 1/10, deka- for 10, hecto- for 100, and kilo- for 1,000.
(3) The fundamental units are defined rationally and are related to each other in a rational fashion.
The metric units were defined in an elegant way unlike any traditional units of measure. The Earth itself was selected as the measuring stick. The meter was defined to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator to the North Pole. The liter was to be the volume of one cubic decimeter, and the kilogram was to be the weight of a liter of pure water. It didn't turn out quite like this, because the scientific methods of the time were not quite up to the task of measuring these quantities precisely, but the actual metric units come very close to the design.
The metric system was first proposed in 1791. It was adopted by the French revolutionary assembly in 1795, and the first metric standards (a standard meter bar and kilogram bar) were adopted in 1799. There was considerable resistence to the system at first, and its use was not made compulsory in France until 1837. The first countries to actually require use of the metric system were Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, in 1820.
Around 1850 a strong movement began among scientists, engineers, and businessmen in favor of a international system of weights and measures. The scientific and technical revolution was well underway and a global economy was developing. The need for uniformity in measurement was becoming obvious. Furthermore, the metric system was the only real choice available. The only possible competitor, the British Imperial system, was so closely tied to the British Empire it was not even acceptable to the Americans, let alone to non-English speakers.
Between 1850 and 1900 the metric system made rapid progress. It was adopted throughout continental Europe, in Latin America, and in many countries elsewhere. It became firmly established as a key part of the language of science... (More at link)
British Imperial System (View the chart below the article for all measurement terms in BIS)
The Metric System (View full article here)
Designed during the French Revolution of the 1790's, the metric system brought order out of the conflicting and confusing traditional systems of weights and measures then being used in Europe. Prior to the introduction of the metric system, it was common for units of length, land area, and weight to vary, not just from one country to another but from one region to another within the same country. As the modern nations were gradually assembled from smaller kingdoms and principalities, confusion simply multiplied. Merchants, scientists, and educated people throughout Europe realized that a uniform system was needed, but it was only in the climate of a complete political upheaval that such a radical change could actually be considered.
The metric system replaces all the "traditional" units, except the units of time and of angle measure, with units satisfying three conditions:
(1) One fundamental unit is defined for each quantity. These units are now defined precisely in the International System of Units.
(2) Multiples and fractions of these fundamental units are created by adding prefixes to the names of the defined units. These prefixes denote powers of ten, so that metric units are always divided into tens, hundreds, thousands, etc. The original prefixes included milli- for 1/1,000, centi- for 1/100, deci- for 1/10, deka- for 10, hecto- for 100, and kilo- for 1,000.
(3) The fundamental units are defined rationally and are related to each other in a rational fashion.
The metric units were defined in an elegant way unlike any traditional units of measure. The Earth itself was selected as the measuring stick. The meter was defined to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator to the North Pole. The liter was to be the volume of one cubic decimeter, and the kilogram was to be the weight of a liter of pure water. It didn't turn out quite like this, because the scientific methods of the time were not quite up to the task of measuring these quantities precisely, but the actual metric units come very close to the design.
The metric system was first proposed in 1791. It was adopted by the French revolutionary assembly in 1795, and the first metric standards (a standard meter bar and kilogram bar) were adopted in 1799. There was considerable resistence to the system at first, and its use was not made compulsory in France until 1837. The first countries to actually require use of the metric system were Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, in 1820.
Around 1850 a strong movement began among scientists, engineers, and businessmen in favor of a international system of weights and measures. The scientific and technical revolution was well underway and a global economy was developing. The need for uniformity in measurement was becoming obvious. Furthermore, the metric system was the only real choice available. The only possible competitor, the British Imperial system, was so closely tied to the British Empire it was not even acceptable to the Americans, let alone to non-English speakers.
Between 1850 and 1900 the metric system made rapid progress. It was adopted throughout continental Europe, in Latin America, and in many countries elsewhere. It became firmly established as a key part of the language of science... (More at link)