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Vocapedia >
Science > Measurement units > Length,
weight, computer storage

The Guardian
p. 1 12 March 2007
1 inch (in / ") = 2.54 centimeters
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/
arts/mickey-rooney-master-of-putting-on-a-show-dies-at-93.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/nyregion/
a-mayor-most-everybody-looks-up-to-even-when-he-slouches.html
micron
A micron
equals one millionth of a meter.
N95 and
other respirator masks
are far
superior to surgical or cloth masks
in
protecting essential medical workers
against
the coronavirus.
(...)
N95
masks
offered
96 percent protection,
the
analysis found,
while
the figure for surgical masks
was 77
percent.
(...)
The new
analysis also suggests
that
covering the eyes
with
face shields, goggles and glasses
may
provide additional safeguards
for
health care workers and people
in the
community.
The
report is among the first to lay out
evidence
specific to coronaviruses,
rather
than extrapolating from data
on other
respiratory viruses.
The
coronavirus is thought to spread
primarily through droplets expelled
when an
infected person coughs, sneezes,
sings,
talks or even breathes.
Some
infections may also be caused
by
people touching a contaminated surface
and then
their mouth, nose or eyes.
Study
after study has indicated
that the
virus can also spread via tiny droplets
less
than 5 microns, called aerosols.
(A
micron equals one millionth of a meter.)
But the
W.H.O. has so far
not
acknowledged this risk
and has
not backed
the
universal use of masks.
“There’s
this fear around saying airborne
— but
that’s what it is,” Dr. MacIntyre said.
A recent
review in the journal Science
took
direct aim
at the
W.H.O.’s reluctance on this issue,
saying
the organization’s recommendations
for
physical distancing and hand washing
were
based on studies “carried out in the 1930s.”
The
C.D.C. did not recommend masks
till
April 3.
Even
now, its guidance says surgical masks
offer
enough protection for health care workers
unless
they are involved
in
procedures that produce aerosols.
The
C.D.C. initially
recommended N95 masks
for all
health care personnel.
Dr.
MacIntyre said the agency
later
downgraded its recommendations
because
of a shortage of N95 masks
and
personal protective equipment.
“Guidelines should be based on evidence,
not on
supplies,” she said.
“It’s
like telling an army,
‘Oh
sorry, we’ve run out of guns,
just
take these bows and arrows
and face
the enemy.’”
She
noted that N95 masks
were
inexpensive to produce
and that
other countries,
including Australia,
had
repurposed
existing
manufacturing facilities
to make
the masks.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/
health/masks-surgical-N95-coronavirus.html
1 foot (ft / ') = 0.3048 meter
2, 3, 4,
5... feet
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/
science/foot-surveying-metrology-dennis.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/
nyregion/coronavirus-catholic-church-nyc.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/movies/angus-lennie-actor-in-the-great-escape-dies-at-84.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/arts/mickey-rooney-master-of-putting-on-a-show-dies-at-93.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/nyregion/a-mayor-most-everybody-looks-up-to-even-when-he-slouches.html
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/22/new-york-today-a-foot-of-snow-a-tough-commute/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/us/politics/thomas-foley-former-house-speaker-dies-at-84.html
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/may/31/
arianne-cohen-books
1 yard (yd) = 0.9144 meter
1 mile (mi) = 1.609 kilometers
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/29/
asteroid-passing-earth-1998-or2-wednesday-near-4m-miles-face-mask-fly-by
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/01/31/
269380564/brain-surgeon-walks-six-miles-through-storm-to-save-patient
an
asteroid more than a mile wide UK
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/29/
asteroid-passing-earth-1998-or2-wednesday-near-4m-miles-face-mask-fly-by
Astronomical Unit (AU)
1 AU
is approximately 150 million km
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/12/
570206648/an-asteroid-gets-its-close-up-as-gemenids-light-up-the-sky
light-year USA
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/
science/galaxy-early-universe-astronomy.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/
science/space/2-new-planets-are-most-earth-like-yet-scientists-say.html
galaxy PKS 2014-55,
800 million light years from Earth
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/
science/black-hole-astronomy-meerkat.html
1 light year
is the distance light can travel
in vacuum
in one year’s time.
This distance
is equivalent to roughly
9,461,000,000,000 km
or 5,878,000,000,000 miles.
This is such a large distance.
For comparison,
consider the circumference of the Earth
when measured at the equator: 40,075 km.
You can even throw in the center
to center distance
between the Earth and the Moon,
384,403 km,
and that value would still pale
in comparison to 1 light year.
Pluto,
at its farthest orbit distance from the Sun,
is only about 7,400,000,000 km
from the center of our Solar
System.
Because of its great scale,
the light year
is one of the units of distance
used for
astronomical objects.
For example,
Andromeda Galaxy,
which is the nearest spiral galaxy
from the Milky Way,
is approximately
2.5 million light years away.
Alpha Centauri,
the nearest star system
from our own Solar System
is only 4.37 light years away.
http://www.universetoday.com/39725/1-light-year/
https://www.universetoday.com/45003/
how-far-is-a-light-year/
at 240 million light years away
Troy weight
is a system of units of mass
that originated in 15th-century England,
and is primarily used
in the precious metals industry.
The Troy weights are the grain,
the pennyweight (24 grains),
the troy ounce (20 pennyweights),
and the troy pound (12 troy ounces).
The troy grain is equal
to the grain-unit
of the avoirdupois system,
the troy ounce is heavier
than the avoirdupois ounce,
yet the troy pound is lighter
than the avoirdupois pound.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_weight - August 23, 2020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_weight
ounce / oz = 28.3495231 grams
UK / USA
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/29/
728118503/saybie-born-at-8-6-ounces-in-san-diego-is-now-the-worlds-tiniest-surviving-baby
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/22/
duchess-cambridge-gives-birth-son
lb > 1 pound = 453.59237 grams
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/22/
duchess-cambridge-gives-birth-son
1 stone = 6.35029318 kilograms
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/feb/22/
mentalhealth.medicineandhealth
1 US gallon = 3.78541178 liters
http://www.npr.org/2017/05/08/
527214026/google-moves-in-and-wants-to-pump-1-5-million-gallons-of-water-per-day
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/21/us/
your-contribution-to-the-california-drought.html
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/04/15/
398607800/redistribute-californias-water-not-without-a-fight
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/01/us/
water-use-in-california.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/
opinion/meat-makes-the-planet-thirsty.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/
business/energy-environment/tensions-raise-specter-of-gas-at-5-a-gallon.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/us/
18dairy.html
half-gallon +
N
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/05/
738938037/police-identify-the-blue-bell-licker-in-viral-video
1 US bushel = 35.239072 liters
Google calculator
http://www.google.fr/intl/en/help/features.html#calculator
measure
measurement
decimalities
metrication
https://www.economist.com/britain/2004/07/15/
measure-for-measure
metric
UK Metric Association
metric system
metric units > watt, kelvin,
farad, newton, joule and gray
metrophile
weights and measures
ounce
pound
kilo
stone
litre
28 trillion tonnes of ice UK
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/23/
earth-lost-28-trillion-tonnes-ice-30-years-global-warming
foot
inch
temperature scale
furlong
1 acre = 4 046.85642 m2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre
https://www.propublica.org/article/
what-the-photos-of-wildfires-and-smoke-dont-show-you - September 21, 2020
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/20/
915072554/as-firefighters-battle-dozens-of-blazes-californias-bobcat-fire-nears-100-000-ac
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/05/
729720938/1-billion-acres-at-risk-for-catastrophic-wildfires-u-s-forest-service-warns
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/mar/12/
frontpagenews.communities
data storage
bit
A bit is a single unit of data,
expressed as either a "0" or a "1"
in binary code.
A string of eight bits
equals one byte.
Any character formed,
such as a letter of the alphabet,
a number, or a punctuation mark,
requires eight binary bits
to describe it.
For example:
A = 01000001
B = 01000010
a = 01100001
b = 01100010
6 = 00110110
7 = 00110111
! = 00100001
@ = 01000000
https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-mbps.htm
What is the Difference Between a Bit and a Byte?
A bit, short for binary digit,
is the smallest unit of measurement
used for information storage in computers.
A bit is represented
by a 1 or a 0 with a value of true or false,
sometimes expressed as on or off.
Eight bits form a single byte of information,
also known as an octet.
The difference between a bit and a byte is size,
or the amount of information stored.
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bit-and-a-byte.htm
1000 bits = 1 kilobit
1000 kilobits = 1 megabit
1000 megabits = 1 gigabit
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-a-gigabit.htm
computer memory
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-computer-memory.htm
Megabits per second (Mbps)
refers to data transfer speeds
as measured in megabits (Mb).
This term is commonly used
in communications and data technology
to demonstrate the speed
at which a transfer takes place.
A megabit is just over one million bits,
so "Mbps" indicates
the transfer of one million bits of data
each second.
Data can be moved even faster than this,
measured by terms like gigabits per second (Gbps).
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-mbps.htm
megabyte
Megabytes (MBs)
are collections of digital information.
The term commonly refers
to two different numbers of bytes,
where each byte contains eight bits.
The first definition of megabyte,
used mainly
in the context of computer memory,
denotes 1 048 576, or 220 bytes.
The other definition,
used in most networking
and computer storage applications,
means 1 000 000, or 106 bytes.
Using either definition,
a megabyte is roughly
the file size of a 500-page e-book.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-megabytes.htm
gigabit GB
A gigabit
is a unit of measurement
used in computers,
equal to one billion bits of data.
A bit is the smallest unit of data.
It takes eight bits
to form or store a single character of text.
These 8-bit units are known as bytes.
Hence,
the difference between a gigabit and a gigabyte
is that the latter is 8x greater, or eight billion bits.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-a-gigabit.htm
gigabyte
A gigabyte
is a term that indicates a definite value of data quantity
with regards to storage capacity or content.
It refers to an amount of something,
usually data of some kind, often stored digitally.
A gigabyte typically refers to 1 billion bytes.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-gigabyte.htm
terabyte
A terabyte (TB)
is a large allocation of data storage capacity
applied most often to hard disk drives.
Hard disk drives are essential to computer systems,
as they store the operating system, programs, files and data
necessary to make the computer work.
Depending on what type of storage is being measured,
it can be equal to either 1,000 gigabytes (GB) or 1,024 GB;
disk storage is usually measured as the first,
while processor storage as the second.
In the late 1980s,
the average home computer system
had a single hard drive
with a capacity of about 20 megabytes (MB).
By the mid 1990s,
average capacity increased to about 80 MBs.
Just a few years later,
operating systems alone required more room than this,
while several hundred megabytes
represented an average storage capacity.
As of 2005,
computer buyers think in terms of hundreds of gigabytes,
and this is already giving way to even greater storage.
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-terabyte.htm
Petabyte
In the world of ever-growing data capacity,
a petabyte represents
the frontier just ahead of the terabyte,
which itself runs just ahead of the gigabyte.
In other words,
1,024 gigabytes is one terabyte,
and 1,024 terabytes is one petabyte.
To put this in perspective,
a petabyte is about one million gigabytes
(1,048,576).
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-petabyte.htm
Corpus of news articles
Science > Measurement units >
Length, weight, computer storage
Tensions Raise Specter of Gas
at $5 a Gallon
February 29, 2012
The New York Times
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
HOUSTON — Gasoline for $5 a gallon? The possibility is hardly
far-fetched.
With no clear end to tensions with Iran and Syria and rising demand from
countries like China, gas prices are already at record highs for the winter
months — averaging $4.32 in California and $3.73 a gallon nationally on
Wednesday, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. As summer approaches,
demand for gasoline rises, typically pushing prices up around 20 cents a gallon.
And gas prices could rise another 50 cents a gallon or more, analysts say, if
the diplomatic and economic standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions escalates
into military conflict or there is some other major supply disruption.
“If we get some kind of explosion — like an Israeli attack or some local Iranian
revolutionary guard decides to take matters in his own hands and attacks a
tanker — than we’d see oil prices push up 20 to 25 percent higher and another 50
cents a gallon at the pump,” said Michael C. Lynch, president of Strategic
Energy and Economic Research.
For the typical driver who pumps 60 gallons a month of regular unleaded
gasoline, a 50-cent increase in price means an extra expense of $30 a month.
The prospect of such a price increase underscores the political and economic
risks that Western political leaders must contend with as they decide how to
address the Iran situation. A sharp rise in the prices of oil and gas would
crimp the nation’s budding economic recovery. It would also cause big political
problems at home for President Obama, who is already being attacked by
Republican presidential candidates over gas prices and his overall energy
policies, and for European nations struggling to deal with the Continent’s debt
crisis.
The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, told a House committee on
Wednesday that rising global oil prices were “likely to push up inflation
temporarily while reducing consumers’ purchasing power.” He maintained the Fed’s
forecast that the nation’s economy would grow 2.2 to 2.7 percent this year.
The Iran situation has already raised the price of crude oil as much as 20
percent, according to oil experts. On Wednesday, the price of the benchmark
American crude settled at $107.07 a barrel. That is about four dollars higher
than on the same day in 2008. Later that year, oil and gasoline prices surged to
new records, including a record nominal high of $145.29 a barrel for oil and
$4.11 a gallon for gasoline in July. (In today’s dollars, that would be $150.87
for oil and $4.27 for gasoline.)
Although prices plunged late in 2008 as the financial crisis took its toll and
the recession deepened, that kind of sharp increase could happen again as summer
approaches.
“That’s what frightens people,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil
Price Information Service.
That fear is tempered by optimism — if tensions ease in the Middle East, experts
predict that energy prices will fall, with gasoline at the pump potentially
dropping 50 cents a gallon or more because supplies are relatively strong in
many parts of the country. Some analysts say the world price of oil could fall
to $80 a barrel if tensions eased.
And there have been signs in recent days that Iran is feeling the pain of
sanctions on its critical oil exports, perhaps increasing its willingness to
negotiate with the West.
On Wednesday, Tehran offered Pakistan, which has been suffering power shortages,
80,000 barrels of oil a day on an easy payment plan. It also offered to accept
gold rather than dollars for payment from any dealers hoping to get around the
Western restrictions on the usual financial channels for buying oil.
And this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Congressional committee
that the administration was working hard to persuade India, China and Turkey,
which represent more than a third of Iran’s oil export market, to reduce their
purchases.
While all three countries have said publicly that they will continue to buy from
Iran, Mrs. Clinton said, “in a number of cases, both on their government side
and on their business side, they are taking actions that go further and deeper
than perhaps their public statements might lead you to believe.”
Neal Soss, chief economist of Credit Suisse, said sustained high gasoline prices
would definitely have an impact on the American economy. “As a rule of thumb, a
penny a gallon is worth a bit over $1 billion in consumer purchasing power if it
is maintained a whole year. A dollar more would be something in excess of $100
billion, which is about the size of the Social Security tax cut.”
Despite a fall in gasoline demand in the United States and Europe, global oil
markets are tightening because demand for energy from Asian countries,
particularly China and India, is rising at surprisingly strong rates even as
output is declining from several important producing countries.
Gasoline futures are surging, spurred in part by recent refinery closings that
may produce a shortage of motor fuel in the Northeast states by summer.
Oil prices have surged about 8 percent since Iran threatened to cut off oil
imports to France, Spain, Italy and other European countries three weeks ago as
a pre-emptive move against Western moves to tighten sanctions. The European
Union has decided to place an embargo on Iranian oil and ban shipping and
insurance on its cargoes. Washington has decided on banking sanctions to curtail
Iran’s ability to earn money from its oil exports.
Middle East experts express doubts that Iran will follow through on its threats
to stop supplying European customers or close the vital oil sea lanes of the
Strait of Hormuz. But the saber-rattling from both sides is encouraging
investors to buy oil futures contracts at higher and higher prices. Rising
conjecture that Israel could launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear
facilities has heightened market jitters.
“The bankers are speculating, protecting themselves from higher prices by
committing obligations to buy now, and that starts the ball rolling toward
higher prices,” said Sadad Ibrahim al-Husseini, former head of exploration and
production at Saudi Aramco, the state oil company.
He added that the escalating civil turmoil in Syria, a crucial ally of Iran, “is
bound to increase price volatility and that will drive future speculation.”
The Japanese Foreign Ministry signaled on Wednesday that it was close to an
agreement with Washington to further reduce shipments of oil from Iran, which
have already declined about 20 percent since the beginning of the year.
But any success in tightening sanctions on Iran could squeeze global oil
supplies, pushing up prices and causing serious economic repercussions at home
and abroad.
“It’s a bind for Obama,” said Mr. Kloza at the Oil Price Information Service.
“How do you get tough on Iran without getting tough on American wallets?”
Tensions Raise Specter of Gas at $5 a
Gallon,
NYT,
29.2.2012,
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/
business/energy-environment/tensions-raise-specter-of-gas-at-5-a-gallon.html
700-pound woman
rescued from second-floor bathroom
Wed Apr 4, 2007
9:03AM EDT
Reuters
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters Life!) - A 700-pound (318 kg) woman was rescued from
her bathroom by firefighters who cut away part of an exterior wall and removed a
window before lowering her to the ground, a fire official said on Tuesday.
The woman, identified as Patty Brown, called emergency services in Trenton, New
Jersey, late on Monday after falling in the second-floor bathroom and being
unable to get up.
Medical personnel were unable to move her, and so called the city's fire
department, which eventually dispatched three fire engines and some 25 officers.
After removing part of the bathroom wall, cutting the window down to the floor,
and taking out the toilet and radiator, firefighters moved her into a rescue
basket in which she was lowered down a specially reinforced ladder to the ground
outside, said Battalion Chief Qareeb Bashir.
With the help of around 10 firefighters, she was then moved on to a stretcher,
transferred to an ambulance specially equipped for very large people, and taken
to a local hospital.
Brown, who was only slightly injured from her fall, was conscious throughout the
five-hour operation, and was "very pleasant," Bashir said.
Although firefighters are trained to perform difficult rescues, this provided an
unusual challenge, Bashir said.
"This was a very unique situation," he said.
700-pound woman rescued
from second-floor bathroom,
R,
4.4.2007,
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0329100320070404
Fat boy may be put in care
February 25, 2007
From The Sunday Times
Sarah-Kate Templeton,
Health Correspondent
AN eight-year-old boy who weighs 14 stone, more than
three times the average for his age, may be taken into care if his mother fails
to improve his diet.
Connor McCreaddie, from Wallsend, near Newcastle upon Tyne, has broken four beds
and five bicycles. The family claims to have a history of intolerance to fruit
or vegetables.
On Tuesday his mother and grandmother will attend a formal child protection
conference to decide his future, which could lead to proceedings to take him
into care.
Connor could be placed on the child protection register, along with victims of
physical and sexual abuse, or on the less serious children in need register.
The intervention of social services is a landmark in the fight against youth
obesity.
The boy’s mother, Nicola McKeown, said: “If Connor gets taken into care that is
the worst scenario there could be. Hopefully, we will be able to work through it
and come up with a good plan and he will just be put on the at-risk register or
some other register. That wouldn’t be so bad because, hopefully, there will be
some help for us at the end of it.”
Two specialist obesity nurses, a consultant paediatrician, the deputy head of
Connor’s school, a police officer and at least two social workers are expected
to be on the panel deciding what action should be taken.
One National Health Service source said: “We have attempted many times to
arrange for Connor to have appointments with community and paediatric
nutritionists, public health experts, school nurses and social workers to weigh
and measure him and to address his diet, but the appointments have been missed.
“Taking the child into care or putting him on the child protection register is
absolutely the last resort. We do not do these things lightly but we have got to
consider what effect this life-style is having on his health. Child abuse is not
just about hitting your children or sexually abusing them, it is also about
neglect.”
The source added: “The long-term health effects of obesity such as diabetes are
well known and it is concerning that Connor is more than twice the weight he
should be. There has to be some parental responsibility.”
McKeown will appear on Tonight
with Trevor McDonald on ITV tomorrow.
Fat boy may be put in care,
STs,
25.2.2007,
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1434607.ece
- broken link
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