[meteorite-list] Scale Cubes [WAS: Ad Announcing the "Count" cube Scale / Orientation cube]

From: Michael Blood <mlblood_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:53:44 -0700
Message-ID: <C7C36DD8.C464%mlblood_at_cox.net>

Hi Richard and list,
        Only the US, Burma and one other small country use the inches
And feet scale. The entire scientific community uses the metric scale.
1 CM cube is the only size I have ever seen - it would seem a Meter
Cube may be useful under some circumstance, but very few of the
World's meteorites would warrant such.
        Best wishes, Michael


On 3/15/10 1:32 AM, "Richard Kowalski" <damoclid at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Shawn, Matt,
>
> If I'm not mistaken, the scale cube was invented specifically for the lunar
> samples brought back by the Apollo missions.
>
> Obviously, the idea behind using a scale cube is just that, to show the scale
> of the object in the photograph.
>
> I agree that for good scientific reasons, a scale cube in some metric
> measurement makes the most sense. A cubic centimeter is most common, but why
> not a cubic decimeter or a cubic meter, if those are appropriately sized for
> the object? I have no problem with any sized scale cube as long as the
> dimension is clearly marked and visible in the photograph. 1-cm, 1 inch, no
> matter. There is no "standard" so to speak. The key is to use something of the
> appropriate scale for the object being photographed...
>
> I have no objection to using other objects too, again as long as they are
> easily identifiable. I might not know what the coin is, if one is being used
> for scale, but I immediately have a general idea how big is probably is. As
> long as I can unambiguously identify it in the photograph, that's all I need.
> If the image is poor and I can't determine exactly what coin it is, much less
> the country of origin, much of the value of using that coin for scale is lost.
>
> Most car keys are about the same size and have been for a very long time...
> Put them next to your rocks. I'll have some idea how big they are.
>
> Something that REALLY bothers me is something ambiguous, like dice. They all
> look the same and come in many different sizes. Even the standard ones have no
> markings that tell you they are standard size, or some other size. If you see
> them in a photograph, is it a standard die, a small one from a board game or
> is it a huge novelty die from a game show??
>
> I can assume it is a standard die or close to it and get a general scale of
> the object. The same goes for the plastic 1-cm cubes you see in photos that
> have no scale marked on them. By the weight of the object you can guess the
> cube is 1-cm, but it's really a bad idea not to include the actual size of
> your scale on your scale object, no matter what size it is!
>
> Cheers
>
> --
> Richard Kowalski
> Full Moon Photography
> IMCA #1081
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Received on Mon 15 Mar 2010 07:53:44 AM PDT