To fix this quandary, I suggest using the term "modern metric system" to encompass SI units including units accepted for use with SI, with any prefix. By this definition, liters, milliliters, hours, km/h, etc. are all part of the modern metric system. Historical units like Torr, calories, dynes, and ergs are not.
John On Thursday 06 November 2003 18:02, Terry Simpson wrote: > However, my experience of the general public is that the term of choice is > the undefined term 'metric system' rather than the strictly defined term > 'SI'. So the scenario that you are suggesting appears unlikely to me. I can > easily imagine a scenario whereby a member of the public says that the > litre is 'metric'. I cannot imagine myself challenging that. > > There is no authoritative reference that defines 'metric'. It appears to be > inconsistent colloquial usage. Most people will probably say that the litre > (BIPM table 6) is metric but the hour (also table 6) is not. However put > hour with km as in 'km/h' and the whole thing is regarded metric. It just > goes to show that people use fuzzy logic.
