Message-Id: <MAILQUEUE2-102.931007004524.288@hylkn1.Helsinki.FI>
Date:         Wed, 6 Oct 1993 18:44:05 EDT
Reply-To: Jorge LLambias <jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU>
Sender: vilva
From: Jorge LLambias <jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU>
Subject:      Re: local units
To: Veijo Vilva <VILVA@viikki21.helsinki.fi>
Content-Length: 1669
Lines: 50

la djan cusku di'e

> > > Countries that are fully SI-ified in daily life still
> > > talk of 90 degree angles, not $\pi / 2$ radian angles.
> >
> > And so do countries that have used the metric system from their birth, and
> > thus never had to be SI-ified :)
>
> Picky, picky, picky.  Anyway, I think there are no such countries (or at
> least no such {natmi}, even if there are {gugde}): the metric system is less
> than 7 gigaseconds old, and as far as I know no new nations have been
> founded in that time.

I was referring to {gugde}, of course. I don't think you would normally
translate "country" as {natmi}. And I was being picky because SI-ification
reflects how un-SI-ified people seem to view the metric system as "artificial"
or something, and also because I like to be picky sometimes, just for its own
sake.

> > > Alternatively, degrees need a really compelling lujvo.
> >
> > {jgarau} is perfect. No one will mistake it for {radno}, even if it could
> > include it.
>
> But its place structure is all wrong.

You're right. I hadn't looked at it very carefully.

>  I suppose that "jgalai" is acceptable for "degree"
> with place structure k1 k2, with k3 replaced by some sort of deep magic
> that eats up all the places of "jganu".

No, let's not yield to obscurantism. I propose

klora'o  (diklo radno) r1=d1 r2 r3 d2 d3

or

klura'o (kulnu radno) r1 r2 (r3=k1) k2


The x3, x4 and x5 places will probably never be used, but maybe some
extraterrestrials came up with a different unit. (I can't think why, 360 is
so natural for a circle, isn't it?)

In any event, it has to be a -ra'o to make sure we get the place structure
 right.

co'o mi'e xorxes