Well, while I agree with Bill, it seems that humans need quite a bit of
training to use many different prefixes.
Instead, most people in metric countries seem to settle on a small number of
prefixes (in addition to the base unit) because they want (I presume) to keep
only a small number of "standard" sizes in their heads.
This is why I see metric usage that uses the kilometer as the "base" for the
unit of travel length, and then all distances are numeric multiples of
kilometers (such as "20 million kilometers", etc.) rather than adjusting the
prefix.
Ezra
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Bill Hooper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> On 2008 Jan 24 , at 10:06 PM, Ziser, Jesse wrote:
>
> > ... found nothing suggesting that anyone is even considering
> > "switching" from tonnes to
> > Mg. Why the heck not?
> >
> > If I may ask, what is the opinion of you wise folks on this?
>
> Inertia.
> Laziness.
> "We always did it that way."
>
> There is no good reason not to use the megagram (Mg) which is
> identical to the tonne (also called "metric ton" in countries using
> non-metric units). The same faulty arguments are used as are used to
> explain why non-metric countries (USA) don't switch to metric.
>
> If we allow the renaming of every unit to give them all different and
> unrelated names, we'll be almost back to where we started before SI
> was created.
>
> Regards,
> Bill Hooper
> Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA
>
> ==========================
> SImplification Begins With SI.
> ==========================
>
>
--- Begin Message ---
On 2008 Jan 24 , at 10:06 PM, Ziser, Jesse wrote: ... found nothing suggesting that anyone is even considering "switching" from tonnes to
Mg. Why the heck not?
If I may ask, what is the opinion of you wise folks on this?
Inertia. Laziness. "We always did it that way."
There is no good reason not to use the megagram (Mg) which is identical to the tonne (also called "metric ton" in countries using non-metric units). The same faulty arguments are used as are used to explain why non-metric countries (USA) don't switch to metric.
If we allow the renaming of every unit to give them all different and unrelated names, we'll be almost back to where we started before SI was created.
Regards, Bill Hooper Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA
========================== SImplification Begins With SI. ==========================
|
--- End Message ---
