Having a conversation with a colleague today... if a "leg" is a unit of distance (the last leg of a journey) and a "stint" is a unit of time (did a stint in the army), could we have a unit of speed, "legs per stint"? And if so, how fast would it be? 😅 #MathsToday - ThreadSky

ecrmaths.bsky.social • 7 days ago

Having a conversation with a colleague today... if a "leg" is a unit of distance (the last leg of a journey) and a "stint" is a unit of time (did a stint in the army), could we have a unit of speed, "legs per stint"? And if so, how fast would it be? 😅
#MathsToday

Comments

gmeehan.bsky.social•7 days ago

A tiny fraction of a league per eon?

ecrmaths.bsky.social•7 days ago

What's that in furlongs per fortnight?

jameshandscombe.bsky.social•7 days ago

A furlong per fortnight is a thousand and eighty three million leagues per eon.

jameshandscombe.bsky.social•7 days ago

Based on a standard leg of 100 miles (clearly this depends on form of transport and terrain - I’m using the widely recognized Ford Focus on single-carriageway A-roads) and a Biblical stint of 7 years (Exodus 21) then a leg per stint is 4.4 furlongs per fortnight.

ecrmaths.bsky.social•7 days ago

This would make a great Core Maths question... "state your assumptions" 😄

paddymacmahon.com•7 days ago

The furlong per fortnight is my favourite unit of speed.

I once set an entrance exam question about snails moving at so many furlongs per fortnight. It didn't prove popular.

(I did define a furlong very carefully...)

jameshandscombe.bsky.social•7 days ago

Did you go for 220 yards or an eighth of a mile?

paddymacmahon.com•7 days ago

I went for 10 chains.

siddhantk.bsky.social•6 days ago

Leg (feet) is already a unit of distance.

tedious-search.bsky.social•6 days ago

An unspecified distance (also a fraction of a whole), per an unspecified duration.
I’d like to use it, though we need to assign values that are convertible.
Also figure out how many ‘legs’ constitutes a whole, erm, full compliment of leggage.

ecrmaths.bsky.social•6 days ago

James has suggested some standard(ish) values for a leg and a stint...

https://bsky.app/profile/jameshandscombe.bsky.social/post/3lpcmrso6xk2i

tedious-search.bsky.social•6 days ago

Thank you, I enjoyed that 😄

wrtl.bsky.social•7 days ago

Great topic. This fuels my proposal for more layman-friendly SI-units according to the terms used in the non science press. Jumbo Jets for length, football fields for areas and baby elephants for masses. So force would be measured in baby elephant jumbo jets by square seconds etc.

adgonvel.bsky.social•7 days ago

Reasonably fast- a leg has to be substantial and a stint is short.

paddymacmahon.com•7 days ago

Fuel economy is often measured in litres per 100km, which is basically an area. So I like to quote it in acres.

paddymacmahon.com•7 days ago

I reckon my volvo uses about 25 picoacres.

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