![]() ![]() The energy released by large explosions is usually expressed in megatons, which is based on grams (1e+12).Bytes are used for measuring gigantic amounts of data, for example terabytes (1e+12) or petabytes (1e+15).At its furthest point, Pluto is 5.83 Tm (terameters) from the Sun.Įdit: some have answered that meters are too small and therefore not intuitive for measuring large distances, however there are plenty of situations where this is not a problem, for example:.The distance to the Andromeda Galaxy is 23 Zm (zettameters).The diameter of the Sun is 1.39 Gm (gigameters).The ISS orbits about 400 km above Earth.Why don't they use meters (or multiples thereof) to measure distances, as these are the SI unit for distance? Since the meter is already used in particle physics to measure the size of atoms, why couldn't it be used in astrophysics to measure the large distances in the Universe? Do with that what you will.In astronomy distances are generally expressed in non-metric units like: light-years, astronomical units (AU), parsecs, etc. In non-technical use it is applied to any extremely large measure of comparison. Light-year is technically, but not transparently, a unit of length used to describe distance. But your dictionary is not in the business of absolving people of blame. the, er, other system used only by three countries in the whole world including the one that is home to this here dictionary? Can the layperson be blamed for thinking that light-year is about time? On the other hand, can the scientists be blamed for avoiding the whole issue of the metric system (aka International System of Units) vs. Someone feeling cantankerous about the matter might put the blame for the semantic saunter squarely on the scientists themselves: they did not include in the term any explicit reference to length or distance, such as miles or kilometers. The hyphen that is traditionally used in light-year tells you that light and year are linked in a particular fandango that has a shorthand form in per: a light-year is the distance that light travels per-that is, each-year. It's helpful to note at this point, though, that none of these has a hyphen. Even the astronomical year terms are about time: lunar year, sidereal year, cosmic year. And who can blame the speakers of the language for letting it stray? A year is a unit of time, after all, and we have a number of year terms that are all about time: fiscal year, calendar year, school year. Words are of course not beholden to the intentions of those who coin them, and light-year has moved on from its strict "unit of length" meaning. Here, light-year is clearly taking on the role of a unit of time-which is not the role light-year was intended to have. Michael Gord, Bitcoin Magazine, 26 Apr. Szabo’s vision as articulated in 1995-the equivalent of light years ago in digital time-was remarkably accurate … School photo day: After what feels like light years since we were in high school, those three little words strung together are still enough to fill even the most photogenic among us with dread. But there are plenty of other examples in which light-year strays completely from its distance application: The phrase ahead of the curve, defined in this dictionary as "faster about doing something than other people, companies, etc.," is, however, often modified by distance words, as in "miles ahead of the curve," so perhaps "light-years ahead of the curve" is standard hyperbolic use. The astronomically educated sometimes object to such uses: a light-year is a unit of length used to describe distance, they point out, not speed or foreknowledge. Here we see light years (sometimes that hyphen isn't employed) emphasizing the great prescience with which the cosmetically-ebullient band KISS jumped on the branding bandwagon. ![]()
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