Difference between revisions of "Wikitravel:Measurements"
Revision as of 21:21, 14 March 2013We often have to use measurements in Wikitravel — for the distances between places, for the altitude of mountains, for the temperature of deserts, for the volume of a glass of beer. This style guideline explains how to specify and format measurements. ContentsUse local units of measurementWhen showing a measurement, use the local system of units for the destination you're describing. This is the system that travellers will see on road signs, local maps, menus, food packages, weather reports, etc. For most of the world, this is the metric system (SI). However, for the United States of America, it's the "US standard" system of units—similar to, but certainly not the same as, the imperial system of the United Kingdom. In some cases, the systems are mixed—for example, in the UK, road distances are measured in miles and beer served by the pint, while meat and canned goods are measured in (kilo)grams. Milk is measured in both pints (in England and Wales) and litres (in Scotland). We favour accuracy over consistency. The chief difference between the US system of units and the imperial system is in the sizes of the pint and the gallon. The US measures are 20% smaller than the imperial measures. That means you get more drunk on a British pint, and you get fewer miles to the gallon on American roads! If the measurements span multiple countries, use metric. For articles that don't deal with a particular destination (like most travel topics), use metric. Provide conversionsIt's easier for travellers to understand measurements if they're converted to their own country's units. For this reason, it's best to provide conversions for measurements into both metric (SI) and US styles, the two systems most widely used in the English-speaking world. If the preferred units are metric, try to provide US style measurements in parentheses after. If the preferred units are US Standard, always provide metric measurements in parentheses afterwards. If for some reason the local unit is neither metric nor US, try to provide first metric, then US (separated by a comma and a space) enclosed in the same parentheses afterwards. Don't repeat conversions unnecessarily. AccuracyThere is no need to convert between units to unnecessarily precise decimal places. If you convert between units only state the conversion to the same number of significant digits as the original measure. If you want to show decimal places or be more accurate than a single unit allows, consider going down to a smaller unit. Remember, these measurements are going to be used by travellers, not scientists. To indicate approximately, use the un-italicised abbreviation "c. " (followed by a space) rather than circa, ca., or approx. Avoid orphaned unitsExcept for measurements of temperature, we have a mild preference for separating the number from its associated unit by a single space but:
eg:" Decimal point and commasIn this, the English language version of Wikitravel, a full stop or period should be used to separate any decimal fraction of a number from the integer part and never a comma, whatever the local practice is. Similarly, don't use a full stop or period as the delimiter to separate groups of three numerals left of the decimal point. Use a comma for this instead. ExamplesThe following are some examples of good practice for measurements.
AreaAlways abbreviate units. Do not put periods (full stops) after units. Never use an "s" after a unit abbreviation to make it plural.
Never capitalise the first letter.
DurationAlways abbreviate units in listings. Do not put periods (full stops) after units. Never use an "s" after a unit abbreviation to make it plural. Never capitalize the first letter.
Electrical
LengthAlways abbreviate units. Do not put periods (full stops) after units. Never use an "s" after a unit abbreviation to make it plural.
Note: Never capitalise the first letter.
Note: Never use quotation marks (' or ") to signify feet or inches. Spell nautical miles in full, because some abbreviations, including "nm", conflict with abbreviations for other units. SpeedShow as : km/h or mph eg: "The latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner has a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (913 km/h, 567 mph) at 10,700 m (35,000 ft)" Temperature
Note: Never use centigrade to mean Celsius!
Note: When referring to places inside the United States, show temperatures in Fahrenheit first and Celsius in parentheses. Anywhere else, use Celsius first with Fahrenheit in parentheses. Note: Once you choose a temperature format, use that format throughout the page. Do not switch back and forth. VolumeAlways abbreviate units. Do not put periods (full stops) after units. Never use an "s" after a unit abbreviation to make it plural. Dry Volume
Note: Never capitalise the first letter.
Fluid VolumeAlways abbreviate units. Do not put periods (full stops) after units. Never use an "s" after a unit abbreviation to make it plural.
(L is always capitalised when used as an abbreviation for litre to avoid confusion with the numeral one.)
Weight/MassAlways abbreviate units. Do not put periods (full stops) after units. Never use an "s" after a unit abbreviation to make it plural.
Note: Never capitalize the first letter.
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