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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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