141–150 of 215 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there a convention for prefixes for 10^n where abs(n) > 3 and n % 3 != 0? It seems strange to me that we would have prefixes for 10^+/-1 and 10^+/-2 but not for any larger values.
Even the old deci/deca/hecto/centi prefixes are largely avoided, especially in science/engineering.
Damn, I was really hoping bronto or hella would get some traction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_prefix#Unofficial_prefixe... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hella#SI_prefix
> However metric prefixes need to be shortened to just their first letter—and B and H were already taken, ruling out bronto and hella.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Percentages lack sufficient granularity. Permillages would do the trick.
There's even an official per-mille symbol: ‰ My graduate advisor loved slipping it into papers just to show it off. I had to dissuade him at least once because it was in the middle of a table of percentages and who is going to that the 7th entry out of 12 has ‰ instead of %?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There a few exceptions here and there, but the UK uses the metric system wherever it can, including speed limits in some locations.
Where does it use it for speed limits? All our cars have speedometers in mph. I’ve never seen a speed limit sign that uses kmph
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And the UK, unless for some reason their official speed limits and such aren't actually, you know, official. As a practical matter, we use metric for many things in the US. The fact that we do not force everyone to change their customary units to metric really seems to irk some folks, but mostly outside the US.
Uk is metric, but we do use a mix. Speed limits are still in mph, and we rarely if ever use kilometres for distances. Height is in ft and inches, and your own weight is in stones/pounds. All other weights are in grams and kg, except for some larger ones (industrial/shipping) which are in tonnes. Pints are used only for… pints, everything else is in ml. And, the best, is “football pitches” which is often used by the n…
Is it just people think that symmetry is a good thing, and for example they added 10^-30 despite the lack of demand? Or there is some deeper reason? Or it is more like one of those coincidences?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No problem there, SI prefixes are case sensitive. But micro, on the other hand...
Micro is a μ, so it’s fine too.
https://www.ismp.org/recommendations/error-prone-abbreviatio...
> Error-Prone Abbreviations, Symbols, and Dose Designations:
> µg
> Intended Meaning: Microgram Misinterpretation: Mistaken as mg Best Practice: Use mcg
Via https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03747-9 , "Extreme numbers get new names": The prefixes ronna and quetta represent 10^27 and 10^30, and ronto and quecto signify 10^−27 and 10^−30. Earth weighs around one ronnagram, and an electron’s mass is about one quectogram. This is the first update to the prefix system since 1991, when the organization added zetta (10^21), zepto (10^−21), yotta (10^24) and yocto (…
The character sequence 10^27 is of equal length as 'ronna' and much cleaner. The only thing left was a smart short way to speak it without losing the semantics. How about 10^17 == "tenset", 10^27 == "venset", ... Inspired by French vingt, from Old French vint, from Latin vīgintī. Since the length of words (should) correspond to the frequency of usage, longer variants would be ok if not preferable too: 10^… == tento……
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there a convention for prefixes for 10^n where abs(n) > 3 and n % 3 != 0? It seems strange to me that we would have prefixes for 10^+/-1 and 10^+/-2 but not for any larger values.
Even the old deci/deca/hecto/centi prefixes are largely avoided, especially in science/engineering.