Metric System Of Measurement Essay

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Some people think allowing both systems of measurement to be in use at the same time could easily solve this debate. In some ways, that is already the case. Currently the United States considers both the English system and the metric system to be legal systems of measurement. The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1994 requires all products sold in the U.S. to be labeled in both English and metric units. These labels are also currently accepted in most other countries. However, as of December 31, 2009, all products sold in European Union countries must be labeled with only metric measurements.

Having two distinct systems of measurement in use at the same time can cause serious problems. This was recently demonstrated by NASA. NASA's Mars Climate …show more content…

Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, had difficult transitions. In the United Kingdom, the metric system was made legal for scientific use in 1864. It became legal to use the metric system for commercial use in 1897. However, while using the metric system was permissible under law, it was not required. It was not until the 1950s and 1960s that there was a large push to go metric. In 1969, the government established the Metrication Board to help the industry to convert to metric. The goal was to completely convert by 1975. The conversion process went much slower than expected, and by 1980 only some industries had converted. In that year the government dissolved the Metrication Board and efforts at widespread conversion to the metric system halted. This left the country in a situation in which some industries operated in the metric system, while others operated in the English system. Further progress was not made until 1991 when the European Union declared the metric system as its official system of measurements. This requires the United Kingdom to completely convert to the metric system. However, even with this requirement, the United Kingdom is still stalling and has not completely converted. Both systems of measurement are being used in the United Kingdom to this

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