New Mars Forums

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Two Questions Please

*I believe I once read in Jim Lovell's book _Apollo 13_ that a meteor in outer space, the size of a grain of sand, traveling at x-miles per hour has the walloping punch of a bowling ball traveling at 100 miles per hour.  I cannot find the reference in that book.    I've searched 3 times. 

I can't recall how fast the tiny meteor is traveling compared to the analogy, so this is my first question.

My 2nd question:  Does anyone know a really good web site for converting standard measurements into metric?  I'm working on a project, and I need to use metric.  It'd be really helpful to have access to a web site which allows me to punch in a standard measurement and get its metric equivalent immediately.  I haven't found one on Google, or elsewhere. 

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.

--Cindy

---

We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

clark

Member

Registered: 2001-09-20

Posts: 6,362

Re: Two Questions Please

Here is one Cindy, I hope it helps. 

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html

Just select the type of conversion you want to do (distance, length, area, etc.) and then it will take you to another page which will ask you what type of units you wish to convert from, to.

Goodluck with your project. 

P.S. - Here is another one or two: http://www.allmath.com/metric.asp

http://www.onlineconversion.com/ (this one has clothing size, torque unit conversions, and more!)

You may want to try a 'google' search using metric conversion as the search term. 

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Two Questions Please

Here is one Cindy, I hope it helps. 

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html

Just select the type of conversion you want to do (distance, length, area, etc.) and then it will take you to another page which will ask you what type of units you wish to convert from, to.

Goodluck with your project. 

P.S. - Here is another one or two: http://www.allmath.com/metric.asp

http://www.onlineconversion.com/ (this one has clothing size, torque unit conversions, and more!)

You may want to try a 'google' search using metric conversion as the search term. 

*Thank you. 

--Cindy 

---

We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

clark

Member

Registered: 2001-09-20

Posts: 6,362

Re: Two Questions Please

You are certainly welcome. 

Don't suppose we all might get a hint as to your project? I'm not helping you construct a giant ray-gun or something, am I?
:laugh:

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Two Questions Please

*I believe I once read in Jim Lovell's book _Apollo 13_ that a meteor in outer space, the size of a grain of sand, traveling at x-miles per hour has the walloping punch of a bowling ball traveling at 100 miles per hour.  I cannot find the reference in that book.    I've searched 3 times. 

I can't recall how fast the tiny meteor is traveling compared to the analogy...

*I found the answer last evening:  According to the book (not quoting), a piece of cosmic debris 1/10 inch in diameter (in Earth orbit) would possess a punch equivalent to a bowling ball going 60 mph.    Outside Earth orbit, the speed of the debris would be even faster (and thereby more dangerous...).

Yipes.

You know, with all the space debris floating around in the Solar System, I wonder how much human exploration (if we ever manage to get our rear-ends out there, that is!) will be hampered by it.  Hopefully not much.

***

BTW, another question (unrelated to the above...don't want to start a new thread):  I occasionally (rarely, actually) see "Kelvin" used in science articles, and usually alongside of Celsius.  I don't mind (can use converter to Fahrenheit)...but isn't Kelvin generally *out* of use nowadays?  I seldom see it, which is why I wonder. 

--Cindy

---

We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Two Questions Please

Kelvin ist *the* scientific standard. it isn't used in 'popular' scientific articles that much, because it gives most people a headache to do the conversion, esp. Fahrennheit. Celcius scale is easier, it uses the same scale...  0K is absolute zero, you can't go lower, so it is an absolute scale, and very handy scientificly... And be sure, it get used a lot, only not that much online...

BTW another *very* handy converter:

[http://www.megaconverter.com/mega2/]Megaconverter2

it's esp. handy cause you can use it as a pop-up convertor, so you don't have to constantly switch windows, when you are reading stuff etc. (i think RobertDyck pointed  this one out, somewhere, some time... Not sure, though.)

Algol

Member

From: London

Registered: 2003-04-25

Posts: 196

Re: Two Questions Please

the handiest converter i use is [http://www.google.com]GOOGLE

Just type what you want to know, straight into the search box, and it converts it for you.

try [http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie … in+F&meta=]3C in F - For 3 degrees centigrade in Fahrenheit
or [http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie … nnes&meta=]15lb in tonnes
or [http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie … +KeV&meta=]19.7J in KeV
or [http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie … +BTU&meta=]45Kg in BTU
or [http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie … tres&meta=]15 cups in litres?!?!?!?!?!?!

Its actually quite fun! What will those people at google think of next?!?!  :laugh:

EDIT

That BTU in Kg one really confuses me!  ???