I am becoming mored an more convinced that Pat is ritght in trying to
get rid of the prefix "centi-", But there are indeed reasons why it
may not be easy. He, himself, quotes some from South African sources
(below).
On 2007 Jan 26 , at 12:06 AM, Pat Naughtin wrote:
Here is an extract from the July/August 1978 edition of the South
African Metrication News.
(snip)
4. It should be noted that the objection to centimetre is confined
to its use as a linear measure. When raised to the second and
third powers, as in areas and volumes respectively, it is
necessary to employ square centimetres and cubic centimetres to
render the steps between successive multiples of area and volume,
practical ones.
This (above) is another situation where it is going to be difficult
to get rid of centi-, even if we want to.
5. In South Africa the centimetre is used in the clothing and
textile industries and therefore also for related dimensions of
the human body. It should, preferably, not be introduced elsewhere.
And here (abvoe) even South Africa compromises on trying to get rid
of the centimetre.
Bill Hooper
1810 mm tall
Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA
