What's in a "foot"? (Surveying)

[Diggin It]

^^ On a clear day, visible distance is measured at 10 miles, some 53,000 feet. Typical flight level for passenger airliners is 35,000 feet.

 

[CobyRupert]

I am having a hard time with Vertical measurements. Things don't seem to jive for relative perspective.

I was watching a thing about Niagara Falls. 170 foot fall, more or less. Seems like a huge drop to look at. Yet my Garage and house are a couple of hundred feet apart which is nothing.

Or another recently. Edmund Fitzgerald supposedly is sitting in rather deep water. 530 Feet. But the ship was like 900 feet long. Put it upright and it would practically be half sticking out of the water.

:thumbsup:

(Apologies for "hogging" this thread / excessive comments)

So true.
From the small hill I live on I can easily see, travel to, and relate to the farms 2 miles away, road traffic 4 miles away, a ski area 18 miles away, etc....
Yet if I traveled those 2, 4, 18 miles up....I'd probably get dizzy, suffocate or get a serious dose of radiation.

Makes you realize how shallow the usable atmosphere is when you tilt it 90 degrees.

^^ On a clear day, visible distance is measured at 10 miles, some 53,000 feet. Typical flight level for passenger airliners is 35,000 feet.

-Say what now? Is this for a 6' tall man at the beach or on the great plains.

 

[bcp]

On a clear night, I can see things light-years away.

Is a light-year metric?

Bruce

 

[Jstpssng]

On a clear night, I can see things light-years away.

Is a light-year metric?

Bruce

I know that your’s was a tongue in cheek question but the answer is No”.

Is a light year metric? - Quora

As for imagining distances; the Nimitz aircraft carrier is about 1100 feet by 109 feet. The only way I can envision that is to compare it to my lot... from my east property line to the edge of my field and you can barely fit two of them between my house and the road.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Agreed. We had our chance back in the 70's. We blew it. My father was so against it. He was a carpenter and was worried about what a 2x4 would be. I tried to explain to him that you would not need to do conversions much, just start thinking in terms of the new lumber dimensions. But that didn't gel.

Well, it's not 2"x4"...:laughing:

 

[k0ua]

Well, it's not 2"x4"...:laughing:

Nope... they haven't been 2x4 for quite some time...

 

[timbatrader]

Nope... they haven't been 2x4 for quite some time...

You think you have problems with 2x4's here in New Zealand pre metric water pipe that was nominal 2 inch is not 2 inch internal bore or outside dimension historically it was 2 inch internal bore but when steel quality improved they reduced the wall thickness but kept the outside threaded dimension the same so now neither the internal or external dimension is 2 inch

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Nope... they haven't been 2x4 for quite some time...

I just had a carpenter on a job from the Ukraine. He just couldn't understand why the prints called out for a 1x10 and yet it measured 3/4 x 9 1/4...

 

[fried1765]

We don't use pound as force and mass. We use lbf and lbm in engineering. Anyone who couldn't get that straight switched to the College of Business in their sophomore year. :thumbsup:

Maybe.....college of Education?

 

[fried1765]

:thumbsup:

(Apologies for "hogging" this thread / excessive comments)

So true.
From the small hill I live on I can easily see, travel to, and relate to the farms 2 miles away, road traffic 4 miles away, a ski area 18 miles away, etc....
Yet if I traveled those 2, 4, 18 miles up....I'd probably get dizzy, suffocate or get a serious dose of radiation.

Makes you realize how shallow the usable atmosphere is when you tilt it 90 degrees.

-Say what now? Is this for a 6' tall man at the beach or on the great plains.

You would be OK at 2 miles up, in big trouble after only a very few minutes at 4 miles, and dead in seconds at 18 miles.