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Re: SI question



Sorry for the delay - caused by an unexpected visit to a
hospital. There are links to
http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/index.html
Regards,
Jack
On Mon, 12 Feb 2001, Polvani, Donald G. wrote:

I've searched the recommended site below (http://pdg.lbl.gov) but can't find
the SI system. Would appreciate more detailed directions.
Thanks,

Donald Polvani

---Original Message-----
From: Jack Uretsky [SMTP:jlu@HEP.ANL.GOV]
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2001 2:39 PM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: Re: SI question

You can find the SI system at
http://pdg.lbl.gov
Regards,
Jack
On Sun, 11 Feb 2001, David Bowman wrote:

Regarding Joel Rauber's question:

I have a question for the SI guru's out there.

It is common practice in the US to use a period "." as a delimiter in
expressing a number between the whole number digits and the fractional
digits. I.e. the decimal point. In Europe it is common practice to
use the
comma "," for the same purpose.

Is there an official SI position on what symbol to use for the "decimal
point".

I don't think the arbiters of SI style require either method (dot or
comma) of delimiting decimals other than to recommend the use of the
method that is common for the language in which one is writing. For
instance, in English its the dot-type decimal point, and in German its
the comma-type of delimiter.

The NIST has a style guide (SP811) that covers this matter as the
recommended practice in the United States. See

http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP811/sec10.html

for further details. In particular, in Section 10.5.2 it is written:

Decimal sign or marker

The recommended decimal sign or marker for use in the United States
is the dot on the line [4, 8]. For numbers less than one, a zero is
written before the decimal marker. For example, 0.25 s is the correct
form, not .25 s.

David Bowman
David_Bowman@georgetowncollege.edu


--
While [Jane] Austen's majestic use of language is surely diminished in its
translation to English, it is hoped that the following translation conveys
at least a sense of her exquisite command of her native tongue.
Greg Nagan from "Sense and Sensibility" in
<The 5-MINUTE ILIAD and Other Classics>


--
While [Jane] Austen's majestic use of language is surely diminished in its
translation to English, it is hoped that the following translation conveys
at least a sense of her exquisite command of her native tongue.
Greg Nagan from "Sense and Sensibility" in
<The 5-MINUTE ILIAD and Other Classics>