[USMA:36675] RE: Kiloliters etc.

[Stan Jakuba]

Accepting the "international" in the term SI makes it is clear that the cc has no chance. The cc may mean in English what we understand it does, but that is not true elsewhere. The phrase that "everybody speaks English today" is a wishful thinking. In many courtiers people do indeed attend compulsory English classes (or Spanish classes, or Russian, ....) but the result for the majority of people is same as with Americans who attend (compousolary) French, German,... classes. Haw many of them know that language beyond the few restaurant phrases?   Cubic, if the word exist with a similar spelling and meaning at all, would mostly be spelled starting with k or ch, or q, ... Not even all the romance language use the c konsistently (sic) in place of the k sound.    SI is a language. Simple, of only about 40 symbols (not words!), and everybody in the world learns it. In basic education. Except in the US (with noted exceptions). Let's stop wasting our time on making SI "a kind of a version of English." Then we can focus on how to help others use it (as is). Stan ----- Original Message ----- From: Bill Hooper To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: 06 Apr 28, Friday 11:39 Subject: [USMA:36673] RE: Kiloliters etc. On 2006 Apr 27 , at 9:06 AM, King, Mark D. wrote: Maybe, the "cc" should be allowed for use with SI.  That depends on what you mean by "cc". Do you mean the unit, the written symbol or the spoken reference? If by "cc" you mean the unit "cubic centimetre", then it is already "allowed". As a matter of fact, cubic centimetres are not just allowed for use WITH the SI, they are PART OF the SI. If your statement means you think the symbol "cc" should be allowed for "cubic centimetres", then I would disagree. The proper SI symbol is "cm^3" (actually, the three should be an exponent but I can't type that here). The symbol "cm^3" is clearer and less ambiguous and not a great deal more to write (especially if you can make that 3 an exponent). (If you allow "cc" as a written symbol for cubic centimetre, then logically you would need to allow "cm" for cubic millimetre. But, as you certainly know, "cm" already has another meaning thus causing confusion and errors.) If you are suggesting that "cc" be an allowed, spoken term to use for "cubic centimetres", then you are in the realm of slang or alternative terms, none of which is allowed in SI. But you can't prevent people from making up slang terms, so we may continue to hear "cc" spoken. I just hope those who do so will know that it is short for "cubic centimetres" and that the correct symbol is "cm^3". Regards, Bill Hooper Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA ==========================   SImplification Begins With SI. ==========================