[USMA:48334] Fw: A Nanon? Is that a REALLY small moron?

[John M. Steele]

I finally found the "contact us" link and how to use it.  Commented as follows 
to the Managing Editor:

It is not clear which of your reporters wrote the piece
http://times-news.com/local/x1778832543/ARC-grants-to-help-FSU-Mountain-Ridge
August 3, 2010 
ARC grants to help FSU, Mountain Ridge
so I can't comment to them directly.  I would like to comment on the inaccuracy 
of the statement in this paragraph:
"Nanotechnology is a field of science that strives to control individual atoms 
and molecules to create devices that are thousands of times smaller than 
current 
technologies. Applications are anticipated in the fields of medicine, computing 
and space exploration. In the metric system, a Nanon equals one-billionth of a 
meter."
 
There is no unit known as the "nanon" in the metric system. A nanometer is the 
metric unit equal to one-billionth of a meter.  The metric system is defined by 
the set of rules known as The SI Brochure, published by the BIPM in France, or 
equivalently the US version, NIST SP330, published by NIST in the Dept. of 
Commerce.  Various practitioners do NOT just make up their own rules of proper 
usage.  Your reporter may wish to download one or the other of these documents 
and understand the metric system.
 
There was once a name, "micron" accepted as shorthand for the micrometer or 
one-millionth of a meter (from 1948 to 1968).  That name lost its acceptance in 
1968 with a determination that metric prefixes could not be used on a 
standalone 
basis, and since 1968, only micrometer has been acceptable.  The term "nanon" 
has never been accepted in the SI Brochure, and nanometer (or nanometre) is the 
accepted term.
 
Note: The US version, NIST SP330, uses American spelling.




----- Forwarded Message ----
From: John M. Steele <jmsteele9...@sbcglobal.net>
To: USMA <usma@colostate.edu>
Sent: Wed, August 4, 2010 8:19:41 PM
Subject: A Nanon? Is that a REALLY small moron?


I can't find a "contact us" link to tell them a nanon is NOT a unit of the 
metric system.

http://times-news.com/local/x1778832543/ARC-grants-to-help-FSU-Mountain-Ridge
"Nanotechnology is a field of science that strives to control individual atoms 
and molecules to create devices that are thousands of times smaller than 
current 
technologies. Applications are anticipated in the fields of medicine, computing 
and space exploration. In the metric system, a Nanon equals one-billionth of a 
meter."