On 2008/09/03, at 1:40 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
It's the fault of the editor for letting it through UNLESS the AP
style guide says to use kph, which I doubt it does.
Thus, they (the editors) should be made aware of their faults.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [USMA:41643] AP's "kph"
From: Harry Wyeth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, September 02, 2008 6:02 am
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Does anyone know an effective way to get the AP to start using km/h
rather than kph? The online news constantly tells about the various
hurricane wind forces as mph with a following kph in parens. Maybe it
is better than nothing.
HARRY WYETH
Dear Brian, Harry, and All,
Some years ago (2003) a physics teacher wrote to 'The Age' newspaper
in Melbourne to complain about the use of kph instead of the correct
km/h even though km/h appears on the speedometers of all Australian
cars made since the 1970s. Their 'Drive' editor mocked the science
teacher and stated that they would continue to use kph.
This encouraged me to write to the editor as follows:
##
The Editor
The Age
Dear Editor,
I am appalled at the response of your 'Drive' editor to a letter
written by
Bert Smith in Thursday's copy of 'The Age' (2003-04-24). I quote your
editor:
'The use of kmh is the style adopted by The Age and other Fairfax
papers'.
From which orphanage was this style adopted. It definitely did not
come from any reputable institution.
I have checked with the National Standards Commission in Australia,
they use
the correct unit, km/h. I have referred to the 'International System of
Units (SI) 7th Edition 1998', and the website of the Bureau
Internationale
de Poids et Mesures (BIPM), and they use km/h. To make sure, I also
checked
with the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the USA;
they use
km/h. All of these sources recommend km/h as the correct international
symbol for kilometres per hour.
The unit symbol, km/h, is correct because it demonstrates how the
value was
obtained. If I drive 120 kilometres in 2 hours, I then calculate my
speed as
120 divided by 2 to get 60 km/h. The fact that I divided one number by
another is included in the solidus (or slash) contained within the unit,
km/h. Your travesty of an abbreviation, kmh, is completely meaningless
as it
implies multiplying 120 km by 2 h (to get 240 kmh?), rather than the
correct
60 km/h obtained by division.
You are wrong in using kmh as an abbreviation for kilometres per hour.
You
are wrong because you are ignoring all international agreements and
standards. You are also wrong because what you write, in the
abbreviation
kmh, is simply wrong physics and wrong engineering.
Perhaps it was the nonchalance of your editor's explanation that
raised my
ire. It seemed to me that the 'Drive' editor was saying to the Physics
teacher, Bert Smith, 'We are wrong when we use kmh, we know that we are
wrong, but we don't really care about you, your students, or, for that
matter, we don't really care about any other students in Australia,
either'.
Yours faithfully,
Pat Naughtin
##
You will be pleased to know that 'The Age' now consistently uses km/h
and I have not seen the abbreviation kph in the last 5 years. You
might be able to use segments or ideas from my letter in your own
letters to editors or to the AP.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they
now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for
their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many
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and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST,
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for more metrication information, contact Pat at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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