2003 February 2
Dear Science editors:
Science rules call for use of SI units. On page 365 of Vol 299
Jan 17 we see in the graph "Flux[10^-12 erg cm^-2 s^-1]". In the
text on page 366 we see erg again.
Erg is not an SI unit. How did this get in?
The SI unit with the same exponent is 10^-12 mW m^-2. The milli
should be removed so the unit is 10^-15 W m^-2. W m^-2 is a unit
we who look at the sun can relate to.
Even worse, on page 365 we see mJy. How many of general science
readers know that this is millijansky? And how many know what the
heck a jansky is?
Astronomers like to stay with erg and centimeter, that is, with
CGS units (as if space is not big enough to hold a cubic meter so a
cubic centimeter has to be used). However, Science, intended for
the general science reader, needs to keep the faith by using units
that everybody uses, namely, SI units.
I hope these were just errors that slipped by.
Robert H. Bushnell, PhD PE
502 Ord Drive
Boulder, Colorado 80303-4732
303-554-0827
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
