Dear Stan,
I would like to comment on one part of your Letter to Editor [USMA:
40509]
On 2008/03/06, at 11:33 AM, Stan Jakuba wrote:
On a related subject, please let your reader notice that using SI
units and prefixes makes comparisons among energy numbers
immediate. They eliminate the need for conversions among the
plethora of energy units (Btu, kWh, therms, joules, etc.) along
with the not-so rare conversion mistakes. Values in SI let us
compare all parameters be it a capital outlay such as $/W or $/m²,
costs such as in fuel or electricity (both in $/GJ), the amount of
space taken in W/m², annual consumption/production in joules (EJ),
annual average power in watts (GW), etc. Once everyone use SI,
we'll be better positioned for cooperation in solving the energy
crisis. As in all fields of engineering, by using SI we will soon
remember energy and power reference values because the numbers will
be unified and ubiquitous. Cross-disciplines communication becomes
easier. The multi-meaning numbers "billion", "milliard" and similar
words causing confusion today will become clear when replaced with
the giga- or whatever appropriate, prefix.
As you know I have made a collection of the many words used to
describe different amounts of energy. So far I have collected 199
ways of doing this. They are:
Atomic energy unit, barrel oil equivalent, bboe, billion electron
volts, Board of Trade unit, BOE, BOT, British thermal unit, British
thermal unit (16 °C), British thermal unit (4 °C), British thermal
unit (international), British thermal unit (ISO), British thermal
unit (IT), British thermal unit (mean), British thermal unit
(thermal), British thermal unit (thermochemical), British thermal
unit-39, British thermal unit-59, British thermal unit-60, British
thermal unit-IT, British thermal unit-mean, British thermal unit-th,
BThU, BThU-39, BThU-59, BThU-60, BThU-IT, BThU-mean, BThU-th, Btu,
Btu-39, Btu-59, Btu-60, Btu-IT, Btu-mean, Btu-th, cal, cal-15,
cal-20, cal-mean, calorie, Calorie, calorie (16 °C), calorie (20 °C),
calorie (4 °C), calorie (diet kilocalorie), calorie (int.), calorie
(IT) (International Steam Table), calorie (mean), calorie
(thermochemical), calorie-15, Calorie-15, calorie-20, Calorie-20,
calorie-IT, Calorie-IT, calorie-mean, Calorie-mean, calorie-th,
Calorie-th, cal-th, Celsius heat unit, Celsius heat unit (int.),
Celsius heat unit-IT, Celsius heat unit-mean, Celsius heat unit-th,
centigrade heat unit, centigrade heat unit-mean, centigrade heat unit-
th, Chu, Chu-IT, Chu-mean, Chu-th, coulomb volt, cubic centimetre
atmospheres, cubic foot atmospheres, cubic metre atmospheres, double
Rydberg, duty, dutys, dyne centimetres, E-h, electron mass energy
equivalent, electron volt, equivalent volt, erg, eV, foot grains,
foot pound, foot pound force, foot poundal, ft-lb, ft-lbf, ft-pdl,
gigaelectronvolt, gram calorie, gram calorie-15, gram calorie-20,
gram calorie-IT, gram calorie-mean, gram calories (mean), gram
calorie-th, grand calorie, grand calorie-15, grand calorie-20, grand
calorie-IT, grand calorie-mean, grand calorie-th, hartree, Hartree
energy, horsepower hours, horsepower hours (metric), inch pound
force, Kayser, kcal, kcal-15, kcal-20, kcal-mean, kcal-th, kgfm,
kilocalorie, kilocalorie (16 °C), kilocalorie (4 °C), kilocalorie
(int.), kilocalorie-15, kilocalorie-20, kilocalorie-IT, kilocalorie-
mean, kilocalorie-th, kiloelectronvolt, kilogram calorie, kilogram
calorie-15, kilogram calorie-20, kilogram calorie-IT, kilogram
calorie-mean, kilogram calories (int.), kilogram calorie-th, kilogram
force metre, kiloton TNT equivalent, kilowatt hour, kilowatt hour,
kilowatt minute, kilowatt second, kWh, large calorie, large
calorie-15, large calorie-20, large calorie-IT, large calorie (mean),
large calorie-th, Latm, latm, litre atmosphere, major calorie, major
calorie-15, major calorie-20, major calorie-IT, major calorie-mean,
major calorie-th, megaelectronvolt, megaton TNT equivalent, megawatt
hours, metric ton oil, metric ton TNT, metric ton coal, micri-erg,
natural unit of energy, newton metre, petit calorie, petit
calorie-15, petit calorie-20, petit calorie-IT, petit calorie-mean,
petit calorie-th, Q unit, quad, quadrillion, Rydberg, small calorie,
small calorie-15, small calorie-20, small calorie-IT, small calorie-
mean, small calorie-th, therm, therm (EC), therm (EU), therm (UK),
therm (US), thermie (16 °C), ton coal equivalent, ton oil equivalent,
ton TNT equivalent, tonne coal equivalent, tonne oil equivalent,
tonne TNT equivalent, watt hour, watt minute, and watt second.
Notice how words like 'British thermal unit' and 'calorie' have
different naming conventions in different places and they also vary
in definition according whether they begin with an uppercase or a
lowercase letter (Calories are about 1000 times bigger than calories
for example) and to the ambient temperature. By the way, these 199
energy words require 39 402 conversion factors if they are to be
fully understood by our political leaders.
I will use this idea for an item in the next issue of the Metrication
matters newsletter (Scroll to the bottom of http://
www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter.html for back issues).
Obviously, since power is the time rate of doing work (or expending
energy) this list can be fattened many times over to make hundreds
more word groups to describe power simple be adding 'per' and a time
unit such as second, minute, hour, day, week, year etc. to any or all
of the above energy words. With just these 6 time words we could
produce 1194 word groups to describe any amounts of power (for
example ton coal equivalent per year, or Q unit per week).
As this is a crucial issue to any discussion about greenhouse gases,
global warming, and climate change, I will continue to explore these
measuring words as they are used in the media and by politicians. I
think that my article, A word about global warming is still relevant
(see: http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/
AWordAboutGlobalWarming.pdf ) but clearly it needs to be updated to
include the extra energy words that I have listed above.
On an historical note, it is interesting that in this case the SI
energy unit — joule — came before almost all of the other
constructions. The British Association for the Advancement of Science
(BAAS) advanced the units: joule for energy and watt for power in
1889 whereas nearly all of the others arose later. As an example of
the others the word calorie and its original definition — the amount
of heat needed to raise the temperature of four pounds of water by
one degree Fahrenheit — was not promoted to the general public until
Dr Lulu Hunt-Peters published her diet book in the USA in 1919.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
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