Dear Gary, Jesse, and All,
It would appear from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
History_of_measurement that the number series 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1,
2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 has been in use for some time — 4
500 years from then to now!
I have interspersed some remarks.
On 2008/04/26, at 9:43 AM, Gary Brown wrote:
You might be thinking of "Renard numbers," although they usually
just go by the name of "preferred numbers": ISO 3, ISO 17, and ISO
497 are the main standards.
Technically, the 1-2-5 sequence isn't one of the preferred-number
series, but I don't offhand recall hearing a specific name for that
one.
I've used Renard numbers but I was aware that this (1, 2, 5, …) was
not one of the Renard series.
On 2008/04/26, at 9:43 AM, Ziser, Jesse wrote:
The Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences calls it the
"Hyperinflation Sequence for Banknotes".
http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/A051109
That is surely a fancy name for a relatively simple series. I wonder
whether the choice of the (1, 2, 5, …) series has anything to do with
limiting how many coins or notes are given as change during a cash
transaction. I find the (1, 2, 5, …) series easy to handle for this
purpose than the (1, 5, 10, 25, 50, …) coins used in the USA, but this
may only be because I am more familiar with Australian coins.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Geelong, Australia
On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 7:20 PM, Pat Naughtin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
Dear All,
Can anyone help me with a name and a history for this series of
numbers.
0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500, …
It is used in many of the world's currencies — Australia, for
example, has coins of 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, and fifty cents
and then notes of 1 dollar, 2 dollars, 5 dollars, 10 dollars, 20
dollars and then 50 dollars and 100 dollars.
I also think that it also has some applications in engineering to
reduce for example the range of bolt or screw sizes in manufacturing.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
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