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Re: "Voltage"





On Thu, 19 Mar 1998, Tim Folkerts wrote:


So, why are physicists so set against the term "voltage"? It seems to
me that E&M at a general physics level could be simplified by using the
word that the students recognize.

I wasn't aware that physicists in any great numbers were opposed to the
word. It's still in most of the textbooks. I thought I was in a very small
minority in my opinion that "voltage", "amperage", and "wattage" are
unnecessary barbarisms best avoided.

For me it's a mater of consistency. We already have perfectly good
*unit-independent* words for these concepts: potential and current. Add
'electric' to them if you like, but context is usually sufficient to
determine that we are talking about electric potential.

So, since we have correct words for the concepts, why add a synonym,
especially one which implies a particular unit system? If we measure
potential in the unit millivolt we still call it voltage. Shouldn't we
call it millivoltage?

And why don't we speak of the "faradage" of a capacitor, the "ohmage" of a
resistor, the "henryage" of an inductor and the "newtonage" of a force?

My objection to the -age terms is that they simply aren't necessary, and
we aren't consistent in whether or not we use the -age form.

I don't like percentage, either, since "percent" is sufficient and
(according to dictionaries) correct.

And why use voltmeters and ammeters? Current meters and potential meters
would do. A meter stick is ok, since it is one meter long.

We have made some attempts at consistency which have later been
compromised. Consider "specific". It generally means "divided by an
extensive quantity" like mass. Hence specific heat capacity compared o
heat capacity, specific gravity, specific volume, etc. Consider suffixes
like -scope, -meter, -graph, meaning "look", "measure", "make a permanent
record". Works fine for baroscope, barometer, barograph. Also thermoscope,
thermometer, thermograph, and spectroscope, spectrometer, and
spectrograph. Then we had to kill the consistency with telescope,
telegraph and telemetry. Periscope and perimeter aren't even related.

A colleague in the English department once expressed the opinion that
scientists are just as bad at trashing the beauty, logic and consistency
of language as anyone else, maybe worse, and their claims to being precise
and logical people are all a sham. I couldn't disagree.

-- Donald

......................................................................
Dr. Donald E. Simanek Office: 717-893-2079
Professor of Physics FAX: 717-893-2048
Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA. 17745
dsimanek@eagle.lhup.edu http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek
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