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Why a ton, and not a megagram?
(lemm.ee)
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this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2023
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But it literally is a kiloton? Mostly getting used for explosives if you talk about it, but it's used:
The reason megagram isn't used much is because it would be shortened to mg. Which is usually milligram. Sure, you could go the "Mg" route compared to "mg", but that sucks. So "t" for ton works well. It's just another name though, it doesn't matter.
Yeah, I know. But you have the problem with the letter 'm' everytime. You just have to pay attention and write it correctly. And there is also 'micro-' in addition to the 'milli' and 'mega' you mentioned. However, most of the time it's unlikely you're off by a factor of 1 billion and won't notice. Just do it right: 'µ, 'm', 'M'. (Also there are other letters like the 'p'. But there's an even bigger difference between those two.)
If you listen to my school teacher, you're not supposed to use SI prefixes with other things. I think that's not true but would apply to the 'kiloton'. People wouldn't like me talking about a 'kilo-foot' or 'milli-yard'... I've had 3 deca-spoons of soup or there were 2.5 kilo-people at the concert... It took me 15 milli-days to finish the task... What? 1k8 euros for a graphics card?
I don't think there is a clear line. The SI unit system is good. But we still have plenty things that aren't a certain way because of history and 'reasons'.
I think it's mostly down to the fact the units could be mixed when written down.
Mg and mg should not create confusion in theory the standard milion prefix in metric is a capital M.