Friday puzzles -- two similar but different ones

Re: Friday puzzles -- two similar but different on

For the first problem: Is this a measuring instrument commonly found in a wood shop?

As for the second one: The answer can be found in a fort in NJ.

Re: Friday puzzles -- two similar but different on

As for the second one: The answer can be found in a fort in NJ.



Correct

For the first problem: Is this a measuring instrument commonly found in a wood shop?



The instrument that gave the first reading could have limited usefullness in a wood shop. I would not characterize it as "commonly found". An instrument with a setting to get the second reading is almost certainly not found in a wood shop, if anywhere.

Hint

Bill got the second one.

I was working on that one (actually, 509 = 10, without the benefit of the three-letter intermediate step) when I stumbled on the first relationship (which was off only due to rounding). Anyway, even though it was not the relationship that was being sought, I thought it was kinda cool.

WAG

It is a ball-bearing gauge with a 'volume' setting.

The first measurement was of a ball bearing with a diameter of approximately 9.91mm. The instrument rounded up to display "10".

When the 'volume' setting was engaged, the spherical volume calculation (4/3 pi * r^3) was applied to the raw measurement, yielding 509.58 which was rounded up to 510 for display.

Not what I was thinking of

But every bit as good! I was thinking of

10 degrees Celsius - 509.67 degrees Rankine

The Rankine scale is Fahrenheit degrees above absolute zero.

(Rankine is to Fahrenheit as Kelvin is to Celsius)

Re: Not what I was thinking of

I would never have thought of that. I did my best to totally forget degrees rankin, slugs, btu's and pound feet as soon as I finished the thermodynamics class I had to take just because it was the pet class of the department head. Everyone else used metric ;-)

10 = 509 solution

Bill got this one, but just in case his answer was too subtle...

10 = dix (French)

DIX = 509 (Roman numerals)