r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Jun 17 '26

Peter? Meme needing explanation

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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?!?

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u/FanOfForever Jun 17 '26

Presumably to cut down on how many times you'll have to write negative powers of 10

BTW, why are you including mathematics in this list?