ME3255 Project 1: Should I convert the units to SI?

[Shane-Hartunian]

I'm just curious on who else has started the project and if you kept the temperatures in Fahrenheit or converted to Kelvin to maintain SI units. Similarly, I also converted the time from minutes to seconds. Not quite sure if Newton's Law of Cooling specifically requires SI units or if it's one of those laws that, as long as you maintain consistency, the units do not matter.

[cooperrc]

Great question!

The governing equation,

$\frac{dT}{dt} = -k(T-T_A)$

is a math equation with no units. So, you can choose your own consistent set of units.

e.g.

variable	measure	option 1	option 2	option 3
T	temperature	K/C	R/F	R/F
t	time	s	min	hr
k	cooling time constant	1/s	1/min	1/hr