#Giga power of ten update
#Giga power of ten license

The terms are due to be discussed at the October meeting of BIPM's Consultative Committee for Units. Metrologists are proposing to extend metric prefixes beyond yotta and yocto. 'It's supposed to be a conversation starter,' says Brown, who published his proposal last month in the journal Measurement.

#Giga power of ten license

And so, drawing from the Latin and Greek words for nine ( novem, ennea) and 10 ( decem, deka), with some poetic license to make the terms more easily pronounced, he came up with ronna, quecca, ronto, and quecto. He also wanted to continue the reverse alphabetical trend set by zetta and yotta, but needed to avoid letters such as X, W, and V that could be confused with other terms. The new prefixes should relate etymologically to nine and 10, to represent the ninth and 10th powers of 10 3. Although mathematicians sometimes use the prefix googol (10 100), a name coined a century ago by a 9-year-old girl, it, too, is unofficial.īrown prefers to follow tradition.

He says unofficial terms beyond yotta, including brontobyte and geobyte, are already becoming popular. 'Where there is a need that is not met, there is also a risk that unofficial units can take hold and that can cause confusion,' says Richard Brown, head of metrology at the National Physical Laboratory near London, who came up with the new names. Much smaller and they run out of metrological road. At the other end of the scale, quantum physicists have measured atomic forces as small as 42 yoctonewtons. Without new prefixes, computer scientists will have no way to officially talk about what comes next.

#Giga power of ten update

The planned update responds to the massive growth in global data storage, which by the early 2030s is forecast to reach 1 yottabyte (10 24)-the top of the existing scale. They would be the first prefixes added since 1991. If approved, the new terms could be formally introduced in 2022. They would be joined by their microscopic counterparts, ronto for 10 − 27, and quecto for 10 − 30. Fresh from redefining the kilogram and other fundamental measures, the guardians of the metric system have set their sights on another upgrade: new prefixes for outrageously large and small numbers.Ī proposal lodged with the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in Paris recommends new names-ronna and quecca-as prefixes for 10 27 and 10 30, respectively.