For the most part I agree with you, Bill. However, I can conceive of cases in which one might use prefixes with the degree Celsius. In chemistry, biology, or meteorology one might have a paper where the data is predominantly in degrees Celsius but in which one might wish to discuss a small interval. To change between degrees Celsius and kelvins within the paper would be annoying to the reader and to to cast the whole paper in kelvins might be unacceptable for the given audience used to using degrees Celsius for that particular topic.
But the point originally raised had nothing to do with that issue. It used the example of 4.3 m�C as explicit evidence that the degree Celsius (�C) was a unit symbolized by a raised circle immediately abutting a C --- there is no space in between the two. To believe otherwise would be to feel obliged to write 4.3� mC, which would be incorrect. Again, I understand your position as stated below and in fact that is what I did in my last paper. But I do see room for authors to use prefixed degrees Celsius if they wish to. That however had not been my original point. Jim On Tuesday, 2004 February 03 02:28, Bill Potts wrote: > I don't see any merit in using prefixes with degrees Celsius (regardless of > the fact that the SI Brochure allows them). > > The everyday use of Celsius temperatures, which is over a fairly limited > range, requires neither extreme precision (millidegrees) nor great > magnitude (kilodegrees or megadegrees). > > Where high precision or great magnitude are required (typically in > scientific applications), I believe it's much better to used the kelvin. > And, of course, mK would only be used for temperatures or temperature > differences of less than 1 K. Actual temperatures would be in kelvin, > kilokelvin and megakelvin, using numbers to the right of the decimal point > where high precision is warranted. > > Without prefixes, of course, the customary absence of a space before the > degree symbol isn't a problem. > > Bill Potts, CMS > Roseville, CA > http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] .... -- James R. Frysinger Lifetime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist Senior Member, IEEE http://www.cofc.edu/~frysingj [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Office: Physics Lab Manager, Lecturer Dept. of Physics and Astronomy University/College of Charleston 66 George Street Charleston, SC 29424 843.953.7644 (phone) 843.953.4824 (FAX) Home: 10 Captiva Row Charleston, SC 29407 843.225.0805
