It is interesting to see a relatively uncommon SI prefix appear so prominently. Not only is it prominent on the name of the lab and the center and the grant, it was also in the headline on the article, which referred to "THz Research". I was pleased to see the SI symbol correctly used (THz, with T and H capitalized while z was lower case) in the headline as well as every other place it was used.*
The NSF grant was for $3.86 million for 15 fellowships to study terahertz science and technology as it relates to imaging, data transfer and networking system, and electronics.
One terahertz equals ten to the 12th hertz (1 THz = 10^12 Hz) or a thousand gigahertz (1000 GHz) or
a million megahertz (1 000 000 MHz), etc. The hertz equals a reciprocal second (1 Hz = 1/s, sometimes referred to as "cycles per second").
My information comes from the Rensselaer Alumni Magazine, Troy, NY, 2004 Spring issue, pages 10 and 11.
Regards, Bill Hooper Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA
*One could quibble with the article's use of the symbol "THz" as if it were a word in a sentence (or headline). Generally, SI symbols should be used following numbers, indicating the units. This rule is similar to the one that recommends that we write:
"I have several kilograms of potatoes"
(NOT "I have several kg of potatoes"),
"Do you have a dollar bill?"
(NOT "Do you have a $ bill"),
"I went to the doctor for a flu shot"
(NOT "I went to the Dr. for a flu shot"),
"They are exploring the applications of terahertz radiation"
(NOT "They are exploring the applications of THz radiation"
etc.
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