Since colonial measure is obsolete, I don't really worry too much about how the abbreviations/symbols/whatever are used. The hope is that they will disappear.
In other words - why bother setting up a standard for them, when they aren't even supposed to be there. Carleton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of James Frysinger Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 12:21 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:41554] Re: [Fwd: Web page errors] NIST treats them as symbols, Bill. Some of them, such as lb and oz, are not abbreviations, except in languages other than English. See NIST SP 811, for instance. Some are accepted for use with the SI and thus their symbols should never be followed by a period, except when they end a sentence. Examples are h and min. You may see this in the Brochure. You are correct, as far as I know, in saying that there is no official standard for U.S. Customary units and their symbols. After all, they do not form a system and are not organized and related beyond the basics in any document. Instead, they rely on tradition for names and on SI units for extent. This leads to some interesting problems. The teaspoon (tsp) traditionally is 1/6 of a fluid ounce but the FDA defines it as 5 mL, and the USDA matches that. Jim Bill Hooper wrote: > On Aug 7 , at 10:11 AM, James Frysinger wrote: >> This is outside the metric system, but there is no need for a >> period following the symbol "oz" since it is a symbol and not an >> abbreviation. > > I'm not sure that is right, Jim. > > In SI the short forms are officially called symbols but I think the > short forms for older, non-metric units have always been identified as > abbreviations. Thus, the abbreviation for fluid ounce may be written as > "FL. OZ." or "fl. oz." or "Fl. Oz." etc. (and even with script letters). > This is not typically done with a symbol. A symbol (like $ or # or @) is > always the same. Thus, SI short forms, since they are always the same > (never M for metre or mw for megawatts), are symbols, not abbreviations. > > We can cite official BIPM documents to verify that the SI short forms > are called symbols. I know of no such documents that might classify > other, non-SI short forms as symbols. > > Since "oz." and "fl. oz." etc. are abbreviations, they would ordinarily > be followed by a period. In passing, however, I note that some modern > styles tend to omit the periods at the end of abbreviations. As usual, > abbreviations have such variations in form while symbols usually do not. > > Regards, > Bill Hooper > Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA > > ========================== > Make It Simple; Make It Metric! > ========================== > > > -- James R. Frysinger 632 Stony Point Mountain Road Doyle, TN 38559-3030 (H) 931.657.3107 (C) 931.212.0267
