Making the Metric System Useful by the Dozen – Your Very Own 2×3 Rdm Measuring Device
[[ After reading the previous post ]], think you’d need a law requiring you to switch to the metric system now?
Why not find out?
I made a grid that if printed accurately will measure anything you want in R-metric. It’s precisely 25 cm by 2/3 of 25 cm, with distinguishable lines at every Rdm, Rcm, and Rmm
There are also colors every 3 and 4 Rmm and Rcm to assist in counting.
If you want to convert directly to Xcm or Rcm, here are your conversion factors. Though the general rule is “Multiply by 10^(?), divide by 12^(?)”, where the ? is the same thing it would be if you were trying to show your measurement in meters.
| To convert to from R-metric to X-metric(standard metric) | To convert from X-metric to R-metric | |||||||
| Multiply by | 10 Rdm | 100 Rcm | 1000Rmm | Multiply by | 12 Xdm | 144 Xcm | 1000 Xcm | |
| Divide by | 12 Xdm | 144 Xcm | 1728Xmm | Divide by | 10 Rdm | 100 Rcm | 1728 Rcm | |
Note that all these numbers are in the standard decimal base X. If you want to use base R, the easiest thing to do would be to multiply your measurement by 10, 100, or 1000, to get to meters, then convert to base X and divide by 10, 100, or 1000. That way all you ever have to do is shift decimals.
If you really want to stick to base R for the whole conversion though, the first three powers of X are X, 84, and 6E4, so replace those in the chart above.
By the way, the lines actually make it very easy to count in base twelve, as ten and eleven don’t have any distinguishing marks, so if you just count “3, 6, 9, 10″, you can simply shift your decimals there 
The number you get would be a perfectly valid X-metric measurement, in base R. You’d still need to convert it to base X before comparing it to anyone though
To calibrate it, either make sure that the long edge is precisely 25 centimeters, or try measuring something you absolutely know the size of, like a US dollar bill.
Width ␉155.956 Xmm Height ␉66.294 Xmm
Width 269.497 Rmm Height 114.556 Rmm,
Though remember your measurement only goes to the nearest Rmm, and to keep it perfectly level with the lines. Also, it’s best to use a new dollar bill. My own measurements were 271 by 115 Rmm though, or 1X7 by 97 in base R
I tried to make the colors I used as universal as possible, but if by chance it doesn’t work for you, or you just hate the colors, [[here’s a monochromatic one]] where the lines are varied a bit more, with only every three of each measurement bolded.
