Recently, at the General Conference on Weights and Measures in Versailles, France, additions to the International System of Units (SI) were approved in the form of new prefixes.
These modifications not only have an impact on the limits of the SI, but also expand its capabilities. Two of the prominent new prefixes are “ronna” and “quetta,” which allow masses ranging from quadrillions to quintillions of tons to be measured. Imagine, for example, that the mass of the Earth can be expressed as six ronnanograms; this is certainly an idea that will get people talking.
This recent update of the prefixes marks the first expansion of the metric system in thirty years, following the inclusion of the prefixes zetta (Z) and yotta (Y) in the 1990s. This update was necessitated by the increasing demands of data science and the ever-increasing capacity of information processing by computers in the digital age. Technological advances such as quantum computing and Big Data have made it necessary to expand the capabilities of the metric system.
The importance of updating metric terms
Importantly, this update seeks to prevent the adoption of unofficial expressions to represent huge numbers, which could generate confusion and errors in certain areas. In addition to the new prefixes, other important decisions were made regarding time.
As science advances and knowledge expands, it is essential to have measurement systems that allow extremely large or infinitesimal magnitudes to be expressed accurately and effectively. New prefixes in the metric system open up endless possibilities to address macroscopic challenges in a comprehensible and efficient manner.
This update represents a breakthrough in the quest for a more skillful society in scientific language. The introduction of these new prefixes will facilitate communication between researchers, students and educational professionals, facilitating the shared understanding of extraordinarily large and small magnitudes. The metric system provides the foundation for understanding the natural forces that govern the world and life. Adding these new prefixes is a step toward a broader and deeper understanding of the universe.
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Source: Ronnagramo y quettagramo: ya tenemos nuevos prefijos para los números extraordinariamente grandes
