Usage around the world Metric system

the usage of metric system varies around world. according central intelligence agency s factbook (2007), international system of units has been adopted official system of weights , measures nations in world except myanmar (burma), liberia , united states, while nist has identified united states industrialised country metric system not predominant system of units. however, reports published since 2007 hold no longer true of myanmar or liberia. agence france-presse report 2010 stated sierra leone had passed law replace imperial system metric system thereby aligning system of measurement used mano river union (mru) neighbours guinea , liberia. reports myanmar suggest country planning adopt metric system.

in united states metric units, authorised congress in 1866, used in science, medicine, military, , partially in industry, customary units predominate in household use. @ retail stores litre commonly used unit volume, on bottles of beverages, , milligrams used denominate amounts of medications, rather grains. on other hand, non-metric units used in regulated environments such nautical miles , knots in international aviation. resistance metrication, particularly in uk , us, has been connected perceived cost involved, sense of patriotism , lack of desire conform internationally.

in countries of commonwealth of nations metric system has replaced imperial system varying degrees: australia, new zealand , commonwealth countries in africa totally metric, india metric while canada partly metric. in united kingdom, metric system, use of first permitted trade in 1864, used in government business, in industries including building, health , engineering , pricing measure or weight in trading situations, both wholesale , retail. imperial system used british public, such feet , inches measurement of height, weight in stone , pounds, , legally mandated in various cases, such road-sign distances, must given in yards , miles. in 2007, european commission announced abandon requirement metric-only labelling on packaged goods in uk, , allow dual metric–imperial marking continue indefinitely.

some other jurisdictions, such hong kong, have laws mandating or permitting other systems of measurement in parallel metric system in or contexts.

variations in spelling

the si symbols metric units intended identical, regardless of language used unit names ordinary nouns , use character set , follow grammatical rules of language concerned. example, si unit symbol kilometre km everywhere in world, though local language word unit name may vary. language variants kilometre unit name include: chilometro (italian), kilometer (german), kilometer (dutch), kilomètre (french), χιλιόμετρο (greek), quilómetro/quilômetro (portuguese), kilómetro (spanish) , километр (russian).

variations found spelling of unit names in countries using same language, including differences in american english , british spelling. example, meter , liter used in united states whereas metre , litre used in other english-speaking countries. in addition, official spelling used si prefix ten deka. in american english term metric ton normal usage whereas in other varieties of english tonne common. gram spelled gramme in english-speaking countries other united states, though older usage declining.

conversion , calculation incidents

the dual usage of or confusion between metric , non-metric units has resulted in number of serious incidents. these include:

flying overloaded american international airways aircraft miami, florida maiquetia, venezuela on 26 may 1994. degree of overloading consistent ground crew reading kilogram markings on cargo pounds.
in 1999 institute safe medication practices reported confusion between grains , grams led patient receiving phenobarbital 0.5 grams instead of 0.5 grains (0.03 grams) after practitioner misread prescription.
the canadian gimli glider accident in 1983, when boeing 767 jet ran out of fuel in mid-flight because of 2 mistakes made when calculating fuel supply of air canada s first aircraft use metric measurements: mechanics miscalculated amount of fuel required aircraft result of unfamiliarity metric units.
the root cause of loss in 1999 of nasa s us$125 million mars climate orbiter mismatch of units – spacecraft engineers calculated thrust forces required velocity changes using customary units (lbf·s) whereas team built thrusters expecting value in metric units (n·s) per agreed specification.




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^ kuhn, markus (1 december 2009). metric system faq . misc.metric-system newsgroup. retrieved 20 september 2011. 
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^ kelly, jon (21 december 2011). british people ever think in metric? . bbc. ...but today british remain unique in europe holding onto imperial weights , measures. call proud expression of national identity or stubborn refusal engage neighbours, persistent british preference imperial on metric particularly noteworthy... 
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^ mars climate orbiter; mishap investigation board; phase report (pdf). nasa. 10 november 1999. retrieved 25 august 2011. 

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