In response to the recent statemen on this list that said:
> And the bit about the centimeter as being the unit of length in the cgs system
> (as opposed to the meter being the unit of length in SI, which clearly makes
> so much more sense since it is syntactically a prefixless term) ...
The above quote is not entirely accurate.
The metre and the centimetre are BOTH units of length in the cgs system. The
centimetre is the BASIC unit (the coherent one for that system), but the
metre, kilometre, millimetre, etc. are also units in cgs.
It will be hard for me to prove that I am right in this (or for anyone to
prove me wrong) because, unlike SI, there is no official body that is
authorized to make decisions about correct usage for cgs. That is, cgs does
not have an official body which can proclaim such hair-splitting
distinctions as that certain units may not called units but must be called
"multiples and submultiples" instead.
I recognize CGPM's authority to do this, but I question its wisdom. I
believe the CGPM will retreat from this awkward position in the near future.
I look forward to that change.
Regards,
Bill Hooper
============
Keep It Simple!
Make It Metric!
============
