John David Galt wrote: >>You would need to say 0.1 millimetre or 100 micrometre. > ^^^^^^^^^^ >Shouldn't that word be micron?
I know that the word 'micron' is widespread use. However, as others have indicated, it should no longer be used. It was abolished in 1968. See: http://www.bipm.org/pdf/si-brochure.pdf http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/200/202/metrsty3.htm http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/200/202/fs376-b.pdf The SI system attempts to avoid special names for units. You go from millimetre to micrometre to nanometre and the meaning is clear and compatible with other things (e.g. millifarad, microfarad, nanofarad). Micron stands on its own and needs knowledge that is not transferable. >At least in the USA, a "micrometer" is a gadget for measuring >small distances, not a distance itself. Yes. Both meanings of the word apply in the UK. However, in the UK the length is spelled 'micrometre' and the device is spelled micrometer. The US spelling is identical for both. Acoustically, I would expect the emphasis on the first syllable for the length and the second for the device. If you search for the phrases: micrometre-size micrometer-size you will find plenty of results (note that a hyphen is meaningful in google).
