Computer screen showing financial data. More data is created and stored necessitating the use of new unit measurements.
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Computer screen showing financial data. More data is created and stored necessitating the use of new unit measurements.
Chris Hondros / Getty Images
As more and more digital data is created and stored, the world needs more measure to keep up with the ever-expanding numbers.
To do so, the 27th Congress on Weights and Measures on Friday introduced four new prefixes to the International System of Units, or metric system: ronna (27 zeros after the first digit) ) and quetta (30 zeros), currently in first place. the top of the measuring range and the ronto (27 zeros after the decimal point) and quecto (30 zeros), now at the bottom.
“Most people are familiar with prefixes like milli- like milligram,” said Richard Brown, head of metrology at the UK’s National Physics Laboratory, who proposed the four new prefixes. Related press. “But these [new additions] is the prefix for the largest and smallest ever measured.”
Yotta (24 zeros) is the largest prefix in the metric system before the new addition. Now, the mass of the Earth could be said to be about 6 ronnagrams, not 6,000 yottagrams. The sun could be said to be about 2,000 quettagrams not 2,000,000,000 yottagrams.
The new prefixes come at a time when scientists and industry who are dealing with data need measurements beyond the current range.
“The change is largely driven by the growing requirements of data science and digital storage, which already use prefixes at the top of the existing range (yottabyte and zettabyte, to represent numbers) large amount of digital information)”, National Physics Laboratory said in a statement.
According to the market research group, the world is expected to generate about 175 zettabytes (21 zeros) of data by 2025. International Data Corporation.
The NPL says prefixes for small numbers (ronto and quecto) will be useful for quantum science and particle physics. One electron mass say is about 1 rontogram and not 0.001 yoctogram (smallest prefix before new additions).
This is the first expansion of the measurement system since 1991, according to National Physics Laboratory.
“R” and “Q” represent ronna and quetta while “r” and “q” represent ronto and quecto. Brown told the Associated Press that these letters were chosen because they have not been used by other prefixes.
“It was high time. [We] need new words as things expand,” Brown said. “In just a few decades, the world has become a very different place.”
