Abbreviations
by David Short on 05/02/03 at 07:19:04

Units are usually abbreviated (in standard and non-standard ways), and it would be useful to have a full list of such abbreviations.

e.g.
"ft" or " ' " for feet.
"in" or " " " for inches.
"kg" or (colloquially) "kilo" for kilograms.

I am particularly puzzled by "mct", which I have seen in French texts.  I know the "m" is for metre, but I don't know about the rest.

Re: Abbreviations
by Robert Fogt on 05/03/03 at 07:55:25

It has been asked a few times for list of the abbreviations and definitions for all the units.

I have been creating the list, it is just very big, and takes so long, that I have just been working on it a little bit here and there.  :)

As for mct....

mc is often used in place of µ, or micro.  T is the symbol for Tesla.  So mcT would be microtesla, a unit of magnetic field intensity.

Re: Abbreviations
by David Short on 05/04/03 at 16:49:09

Thanks for the reply, and congratulations on the great site.

No, I don't think that's it, although it's a good guess.  From the context it would seem to mean linear metres, square metres or something similar.

Re: Abbreviations
by Robert Fogt on 05/05/03 at 03:58:50

The ct could be the abbreviation for carat. A unit of mass used for diamonds and other precious stones in the U.S., and in Britain it is also used for gold purity.

Also, ct is the abbreviation for count.  Which has about 4 definitions.

1. Unit of quanity used in commerce equal to 1.  For example 24 ct oranges means exactly 24 oranges.

2. A unit measuring the texture (thread count) of fabric. For example, 100 count fabric.

3. A unit of volume used in bartending equal to 0.5 fluid ounces. For example, bottles in bartending are fitted with stoppers that pour at exactly 0.5 fluid ounces per second. A 2 count would be 1 fluid ounce.

4. A measure of size in the U.S. for shrimp. For example, a 50 count shrimp would mean each weight 1/50 of a pound.

Those are just some ideas of what the ct could stand for, if you are sure the m is metre.

Go Back | Archive Index