Unit Analysis
In December 1998, the Mars climate orbiter was launched in hopes of providing detailed information about the atmosphere of Mars. The launch went well. However the two teams that collaborated on the project worked in different units--one used the metric system, and the other the English system, and the two systems of units were never properly reconciled. So while the orbiter was intended to fall into orbit around Mars, instead it crash landed on the surface. So units are pretty important. This video is part of the Problem Solving video series. Problem-solving skills, in combination with an understanding of the natural and human-made world, are critical to the design and optimization of systems and processes. Hi my name is Ken Kamrin, and I am a mechanical engineering professor at MIT. Today I want to talk to you about using unit analysis in problem solving. This might seem simple, but it is a critical tool for validating your calculations. So pay attention. To understand t...