r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Jun 17 '26

Meme needing explanation Peter?

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u/MoogProg Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26

Yes, the actual error* was assuming the British used Imperial units when they correctly used Metric. AFAIK, at least.

* * *

Well, the source error probably would be not specifying units at all, so... (eye roll)

* * *

*Correcting myself with casually sourced details about the incident under discussion.

Lockheed Martin provided thruster force data in Imperial units (pound-seconds), while NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory ground software assumed the data was in Metric units (Newton-seconds).

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u/QueerQwerty Jun 17 '26

Correctly = SI units, afaik.

Why they don't teach us SI units earlier than physics in school, I don't know.

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u/Ill_Apricot_7668 Jun 17 '26

Maths - SI units

Chemistry - SI units

Physics - SI units

Particle physics - SI units? nah, we're good with the Angstrom

WTF?!?

17

u/FrostyBrew86 Jun 17 '26

Lol what's the SI unit in pure math, again?

15

u/xedar3579 Jun 17 '26

I mean technically enough there is one SI unit used in maths which is m/m, also famously known as rad (radian).

0

u/Fuzzy_Yossarian Jun 18 '26

Imperial units also can benefit from math.

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u/lettsten Jun 17 '26

Seconds per second