Re: RADSAFE digest 1086

["Bates Estabrooks -WIPP Site - N.M." <besta@tis.eh.doe.gov>]

At 03:05 PM 9/26/96 -0500, you wrote:
>>While I was working in the naval nuclear program, the reason given that
>>uuCi is used versus pCi was that uCi and pCi sound alike over a sound
>>powered phone.  Therefore the use of micro-micro Ci would be clearer in
>>communications.
>
>Do I understand this to mean that some of us pronounce the "i" the same in
>"micro" and "pico"?
>
>I am interested in pronunciation because I teach extensively.  Please reply
>to me directly, MCNAUGHT@LANL.GOV, (not to RadSafe) and tell me if
>a) the i in micro is pronounced as in Mike, meek, or something else
>b) the i in pico is pronounced as in pike, peek, or something else
>c) the G in Gigabequerel is like the G in George or gas?
>
>I will tally the results and post a summary. Thanks, mike
>
>"Shlala gashle" (Zulu greeting, meaning "Stay safe")
>mike (mcnaught@LANL.GOV)
>
>
>
>

The issue surrounding sound-powered phones is not one necessarily of
pronunciation.  It deals with the technology in use, i.e. phones that are
powered by low-voltage dc generated by the sound from speaking, and from the
type of environments in which these phones are used; e.g., noisy machinery
spaces on ships.  To add a few syllables, as in "micro micro"  vs. "pico"
makes for easier understanding on the other end.  That's why the military
routinely uses the "phonetic alphabet" for radio transmissions instead of
the alphabet we civilians use; "alpha, bravo, charlie. . . x-ray, yankee,
zulu" vs. " A, B, C, etc."

Bates Estabrooks
Westinghouse Electric Corp.
WIPP-  Radiological  Controls
505-234-8470
fax: 505-885-4562
besta@tis.eh.doe.gov

Comments expressed are my own; not my employer or U.S. DOE (unless otherwise
stated).