Dear Bill, Thanks for this information, and especial thanks for the footnote.
But what about: Not "Do you have a dollar bill?" and not "Do you have a $ bill"), but "Do you have ten dollars Bill?" Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS Geelong, Australia -- on 30/3/04 6:57 AM, Bill Hooper at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I read an article today about a grant for studies in terahertz science > and technology that has recently been awarded by the National Science > Foundation (NSF) to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Rensselaer > already has an established "Center for Terahertz Research" which > includes the new "W. M. Keck Laboratory for Terahertz Research". > Terahertz frequencies lie between the frequencies of microwave and > infra-red radiation. > > 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. > > ======================== > SIMPLIFICATION begins with SI > ======================== >
