[ RadSafe ] SI Purists

[Stabin, Michael]

To those who say "we just can't do it", I reiterate my 2 liter argument - of course you can learn to think in different units, it just takes a short time. One of the harder ones is F to C; being married to a Brasilian lady now, it took a few weeks, but I was thinking pretty easily in degrees C with just a little practice and relating to actual outdoor temperatures. Then we have to communicate with more than workers directly in our facilities, we are part of a worldwide scientific community, who now has to stop and think when we talk in antediluvian units and they are used to thinking in Bq now. It's so much easier, everything starts with 1 (J/kg, dis/sec, etc.), then add prefixes. Since I started cooking how I wish I had recipes and measuring devices in SI, I have to remember so many multipliers to cut or add to recipes. "cups in a pint...carry the three....multiply by 16...oh, I burned the garlic bread again..."


Mike

Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP
Associate Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
Vanderbilt University
1161 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37232-2675
Phone (615) 343-4628
Fax   (615) 322-3764
e-mail     michael.g.stabin at vanderbilt.edu
internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com