Thread: Happy meals.

Originally Posted by BobL

I wouldn't be too quick to sneer or laugh at fractions, it's not old fashioned or quaint but a real mathematical thing.
Many formulas in Physics and maths use fractions.
For example; the volume of a sphere is not 1.33 ∏ r^3 but 4/3 ∏ r^3 and there is a difference, especially if you have to get to the moon..
The moment of inertia for a spherical shell with the axis through the centre is 2/3MR^2

In practice in the shed I do tend to work with metric systems but as I also often use imperial drill, tap & die sets and also use Vernier callipers with the fractional display I'm often mixing and matching.

Bob, I was not sneering at fractions as I work with both systems. As I grew up with imperial measurements and my main metal lathe is imperial, I work in thou's. Because of that I can't get my head around machining in sub 1mm measurements. I am so bad, when the new milling machine arrived I got new dials 3D printed for it with thou graduations. When I kick the bucket it's new owner can put the original dials back on.
Rgds,
Crocy.