XPost: van.general   
   From: invalid@invalid.ca   
      
   Gary wrote:   
   >   
   > Thanks.  Litres, cubic metres, I had no idea of their   
   > relationship.   
   >   
      
   OK. A quick, I mean very quick, explanation of the relation betwen   
   length, weight and capacity in the metric or international system.   
      
   One metre is devided into 100 centimetres. No problem there. A cube of   
   10 cm side would hold one litre. If filled with pure water and under   
   certain conditions of altitude and pressure, that one litre of water   
   would weigh one kilogram. Got it ?   
      
   So, one cubic metre would be 10 cm (length) * 10 cm (width) * 10 cm   
   (height) and would therefore contain 10*10*10 or 1000 litres.   
      
   Now, if you fill that with pure water under the stated conditions,   
   you'll have 1000 kg, i.e. one metric ton. Still clear?   
      
   That's the beauty of the metric system. All measures are interrelated.   
      
   Try to do that with Imperial measures. Get a cubic container of say 5   
   feet side and find out immediately how may Imperial gallons it   
   holds -- or, if you're in the US, how may US gallons it holds. Then   
   find out, if filled with water, how may pounds the water contents   
   would weigh.   
      
   By the way, you obviously know that a US gallon holds less than an   
   Imperial gallon. But did you know that, as a capacity measure, an   
   Imperial fluid ounce is just about equivalent to a US fluid ounce? Why   
   is that? Because, of course, there are more fluid ounces in an   
   Imperial gallon than in a US gallon. Isn't that beautiful?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)