Bill Potts wrote: >It's a synonym of an SI unit (cubic decimeter). >(To avoid acrimonious acronymious arguments, note that I'm >knowingly stretching the meaning of synonym,
I know what you mean. The BIPM describes it as a 'special name' for a cubic decimetre. The term 'special name' is used widely in SI. >Even the most hard-line SI-advocating�cook is not going to revert >from milliliters to cubic centimeters for liquid measure. >And so on. The duality of units does crop up from time to time. For example, our recent conversation about utilities revealed that Australia measures water in kilolitres and UK in cubic metres. Discussions about cars and motorbikes switch between cubic centimetres and litres, rather than ml and litres. See also: http://edinburghoutdoors.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=31 >With respect to persuading others of the simplicity of the modern >metric system (SI), I'm prepared to lie a little about "liter," rather >than confusing the issue. A fair point.
