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SI Metric-Matters
Around the world you have probably
seen road signs with the symbol ‘Km’. Perhaps you’ve also seen
packets of rice or sacks of potatoes or a market stall with a metric
weight label ‘Kg’. Both of these symbols are inkorrect
because the capital letter k is used. In
Britain
you might see ‘Kgs’ on the side of vehicles belonging to a
national security company; ‘Kgs’ is also an inkorrect symbol.
The symbol ’kg’ does not have a plural form. In fact a leading
American Dictionary (Merriam-Webster) accepts the word ‘inkorrect’
exists!
One person who likes to promote
correct metric symbols is Philip Bladon. He has worked overseas as a
science teacher and school administrator for many years. Philip is
keen to ensure that students and colleagues write ’km’ and
‘kg’ (not ‘Km’ and ‘Kg’). He also points out that the
correct symbol for ‘kelvin’ (the unit for thermodynamic
temperature) is ‘K’ (not °K), the wrong symbol appears in some
science textbooks.
SI Metric-Matters is promoting the
use of International units with the correct names and symbols.
Philip Bladon, from Worcestershire, in the
United
Kingdom
, has compiled A Dictionary
Of International Units. His book is filled with official SI
units, ‘Le Système International d’ Unités’, designated SI
in all languages.
This book not only provides an
excellent reference source for science students throughout their
careers; it’s also a fascinating book for trivia buffs and a
delight for enthusiasts of the board game Scrabble®. When you buy a
copy you will soon enrich your vocabulary and discover unusual
prefixes. In addition to
familiar prefixes like ‘kilo’ and
‘milli’ there
are eighteen more that can be used for multiples and submultiples of
SI units.
With this dictionary, teachers can
help promote the correct metric names and symbols and give guidance
on how to write numerical values correctly. And it’s not just in
High schools and Secondary schools where this book is being used;
Primary, and Junior school teachers around the world are finding it
useful.
For non-scientists it is full of
interesting information, introducing them to a broader spectrum of
words and concepts. Words
like yoctobecquerel or zettasteradian provide a key into a new world
of probing and discovery. A
browse through this paperback or the ebook version can be extremely
illuminating (unit: yottalux).
Symbologists and symbolists can
ponder over character sizes, for example: ‘Zs’, ‘zs’,
‘ZS’, ’zS’, and hundreds more!
Historians will discover the six
nationalities of the 19 scientists whose surnames have been used for
SI (metric) units. The first letter of these unit names is not
capitalized. In schools
these scientists can be presented on a timeline; this might be done
as part of a student exercise during a country’s national science
week; an ideal way to help promote cross-curricular activities
linking History, Mathematics, Languages, and Presentation skills.
Compared to the large, technical
and expensive ISO, (International Standards Organisation), documents
on SI units available from
Geneva
,
Philip Bladon’s Dictionary Of International Units is
excellent value and it’s fun.
A Dictionary Of International Units Metric-Matters: Names and Symbols,
by Philip Bladon.
Published: iUniverse. www.iuniverse.com
ISBN: 13:
978-0-595 37115-0 (paperback)
ISBN: 13:
978-0-595 81515-9 (ebook)
Available from: Internet bookstores
for example: www.barnesandnoble.com,
www.amazon.co.uk ,
also www.tesco.com/books.
And can be ordered through bookshops.
Large discounts for big orders, contact the publisher: book.orders@iuniverse.com
The author,
Philip Bladon is a Fellow of the
Institute
of
Science
Technology
, a life member of the Federation
of Asian Chemical Societies, a member of the International Council
of Associations for Science Education, and a member of Australian
Mensa.
He has worked in
Zambia
,
and in several different regions of
Papua
New Guinea
.
The author’s other interests
include outdoor tropical gardening and the work of the Red Cross Red
Crescent movement.
This article first appeared in
‘The International Educator’ (February 2006).
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