Scientists Approve Terms for Largest, Smallest Measurements
2022-11-28
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1An international group of scientists has expanded the metric terms used to express the largest and smallest measurements.
2The changes were decided at a recent meeting of the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures, which took place near Paris, France.
3The group sets international standards for scientific measurements.
4The new terms are known as prefixes.
5A prefix is a word, letter or number placed before a base word to change its meaning.
6Examples of existing prefixes used in the metric system are kilo- and milli-.
7When these prefixes are added to the metric unit meter, they become kilometer and millimeter.
8This method of combining terms makes it easier to express size and distances.
9For example, saying "kilometer" is easier than having to say 1,000 meters.
10And using "millimeter" is much easier than having to say "one thousandth of a meter."
11The worldwide standard for the metric system is known as the International System of Units.
12Changes to this standard are decided by scientists and government representatives from around the world.
13Britain's National Physical Laboratory, which led the push for new prefixes, confirmed the new changes were approved in a resolution at the meeting.
14It marked the first time in more than 30 years that new terms have been added to the International System of Units.
15Representatives attending the meeting said the need for new prefixes had grown because of scientific advances and huge increases in digital data storage.
16The new prefixes were created to express "the biggest and smallest levels ever measured," said Richard Brown.
17He is head of Metrology at the National Physical Laboratory.
18The new terms for the largest units are ronna and quetta.
19And the new expressions for the smallest are ronto and quecto.
20Ronna is represented by a one, followed by 27 zeros, while quetta has 30 zeros.
21For measuring extremely small things, ronto has 27 zeros after the decimal point, while quecto would have 30 zeros.
22Brown told The Associated Press the new prefixes will make it easier for scientists to describe things they already known about.
23He said the Earth weighs about six ronnagrams.
24The weight of Jupiter, on the other hand, can be expressed as two quettagrams.
25The mass of an electron can be described as one rontogram.
26And, scientists can now say that a single byte of data on a smartphone increases the phone's mass by one quectogram.
27Brown said "the diameter of the entire observable universe is just one ronnameter."
28He added that the new names were not chosen without careful thought.
29The first letter of the new prefixes had to be one that had not been used in other prefixes and units.
30"There were only the letters 'r' and 'q' that weren't already taken," Brown said.
31"Following that, there's a precedent that they sound similar to Greek letters and that big number prefixes end with an 'a' and smaller numbers with an 'o.'"
32Brown noted that it was "high time" for the terms to be added.
33"(We) need new words as things expand," Brown said. "In just a few decades, the world has become a very different place."
34I'm Bryan Lynn.
1An international group of scientists has expanded the metric terms used to express the largest and smallest measurements. 2The changes were decided at a recent meeting of the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures, which took place near Paris, France. The group sets international standards for scientific measurements. 3The new terms are known as prefixes. A prefix is a word, letter or number placed before a base word to change its meaning. 4Examples of existing prefixes used in the metric system are kilo- and milli-. When these prefixes are added to the metric unit meter, they become kilometer and millimeter. 5This method of combining terms makes it easier to express size and distances. For example, saying "kilometer" is easier than having to say 1,000 meters. And using "millimeter" is much easier than having to say "one thousandth of a meter." 6The worldwide standard for the metric system is known as the International System of Units. Changes to this standard are decided by scientists and government representatives from around the world. 7Britain's National Physical Laboratory, which led the push for new prefixes, confirmed the new changes were approved in a resolution at the meeting. 8It marked the first time in more than 30 years that new terms have been added to the International System of Units. Representatives attending the meeting said the need for new prefixes had grown because of scientific advances and huge increases in digital data storage. 9The new prefixes were created to express "the biggest and smallest levels ever measured," said Richard Brown. He is head of Metrology at the National Physical Laboratory. 10The new terms for the largest units are ronna and quetta. And the new expressions for the smallest are ronto and quecto. 11Ronna is represented by a one, followed by 27 zeros, while quetta has 30 zeros. For measuring extremely small things, ronto has 27 zeros after the decimal point, while quecto would have 30 zeros. 12Brown told The Associated Press the new prefixes will make it easier for scientists to describe things they already known about. He said the Earth weighs about six ronnagrams. The weight of Jupiter, on the other hand, can be expressed as two quettagrams. 13The mass of an electron can be described as one rontogram. And, scientists can now say that a single byte of data on a smartphone increases the phone's mass by one quectogram. 14Brown said "the diameter of the entire observable universe is just one ronnameter." 15He added that the new names were not chosen without careful thought. The first letter of the new prefixes had to be one that had not been used in other prefixes and units. 16"There were only the letters 'r' and 'q' that weren't already taken," Brown said. "Following that, there's a precedent that they sound similar to Greek letters and that big number prefixes end with an 'a' and smaller numbers with an 'o.'" 17Brown noted that it was "high time" for the terms to be added. "(We) need new words as things expand," Brown said. "In just a few decades, the world has become a very different place." 18I'm Bryan Lynn. 19Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and the National Physical Laboratory. 20_____________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22unit - n. a measure used to express an amount or quantity 23standard - n. a level of quality, especially one that is acceptable 24advance - n. a new discovery or invention 25diameter - n. a straight line that goes from one side of a circle to the other side and through the center, or the length of this line 26precedent - v. an action or decision that is used as an example when someone wants to do a similar thing in the future 27decade - n. a period of 10 years 28______________________________________________________________ 29What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 30Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.