One definition of a jiffy is that it is a sixtieth of a second, in the same way that a second is a sixtieth of a minute and a minute a sixtieth of an hour. Is there a name for the unit of time that is a sixtieth of a jiffy? Answer When dealing with … Read more
What is a term for the class of measured quantities that have a unit, as distinct from those that are unitless? This term describes any quantity with a unit: 5.3 seconds $0.00 −17.28 metres 4½ apples This term excludes unitless quantities: 5.3 0.00 −17.28 4½ Note that the mass noun versus countable noun distinction is … Read more
Merriam Webster defines acreage as: area in acres oxforddictionaries.com defines it as: An area of land, typically when used for agricultural purposes, but not necessarily measured in acres. To a native speaker, does the word acreage have a “business-like” connotation that would imply that the land is for sale or part of a deal? Would … Read more
I perfectly know how to convert these units, but I don’t understand if there’s a specific reason for choosing one instead of another. What troubles me the most about them is the difference between yards and miles. Does it depend on the country you are from or is it just a personal choice with no … Read more
What the title says. I know there’s a word but can’t remember it. To explain in more detail, I’m trying to state that while the variable is quantitative, the quantity is not referring to an objectively measurable concept. For example something like "happiness" – I can say that happiness is variable linear on an integer … Read more
I am writing statistics results and I want to put a list of lengths of time. In decimal values it will be, for example, 1.90 hours but this is not very human friendly. Then I think I can use 1 hour and 54 minutes but it is very long and difficult to compare with other … Read more
I have found this phrase that as a non-native English speaker perplexes me: …returning images with a resolution of up to one-half meter per pixel. The possible meanings of “one-half” to me are: Every pixel represents half a meter Every pixel represents one and a half (1.5) meters Every pixel may represent any possible distance … Read more
My coworker is suggesting a change to “office hour” in this case. Is that more right? I know “hour” as a unit should be singular when (and only when) there’s exactly one, but as part of the name for hours of operation – e.g. “office hours” or “visiting hours” or “member hours” or simply “hours” … Read more
Is it possible to say “six feet five” (inches are left out here)? Or is “six foot five” the only correct variant? Does incluing “inches” affect the grammatical form of “foot”? Answer Yulia, I’d like to try to answer your questions in a way that will be useful to you. Please advise if I have … Read more
I have problem deciding which one of the following sentences is correct considering the usage of second(s): Computation times of the proposed algorithms are in the orders of 10^-3 and 10^-4 seconds, which are small compared to the sampling times of 0.1 and 1 second. Computation times of the proposed algorithms are in the orders … Read more
