on 3/25/2002 9:35 PM, Joseph B. Reid at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > watt > is widely known, second is known by everybody, while joule is recognized > only by scientists and engiineers.
That is a serious deficiency inn our society. energy is one of the most important commodities in our market place as well as one of the most fundamentally necessary concepts for understanding and dealing with our environment. Not knowing the unit it is measured in is shocking. It is time we stopped allowing people to obscure the concept of energy by such artificialities as the kilowatt-hour, the watt-second, as well as Ye Olde English BTUs, therms, horspower-hours, calories and Calories and kilocalories, tons (of refrigeration), foot-pounds, etc. etc. etc. Energy is important. It is important that everyone know that it is measured in joules. It's about time they start to learn it. Regards, Bill Hooper physics professor (retired), Florida, USA PS Joe states that the watt is widely known. "Known" does not mean "understood". Most people think the watt is to how much light is given off by a light bulb. (It's not!) Few people know that a watt means a joule per second, and they should. How can you understand what a watt is, if it is a joule per second and you don't know what a joule is???? ======================== Keep It Simple - Make It Metric! ========================
