How much does the earth weigh? Scientists have created new quantities to describe it
Scientists have officially approved the new values in the International System of Units (SI). The last time this happened was over 30 years ago. The innovations were initiated by the National Physical Laboratory of Great Britain, whose initiative was supported by scientists from all over the world.
At the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures, the following designations were adopted:
- Ronna (R) – 10 27 .
- Quetta (Q) – 10 30 .
- Ronto (r) – 10 -27 .
- Kvekto (q) – 10 -30 .
Scientists explain that new values in SI have long been suggested, they were especially urgently needed in the field of chemistry, where a huge number of molecular compounds have to be expressed.
According to the head of the metrology department at the National Physical Laboratory of Great Britain (NPL) Richard Brown, the prefixes R and Q for new quantities were chosen according to the residual principle – these are the last 2 letters that have not yet been reserved for other designations.
With the new values, it is much more convenient to describe the huge mass of the planets. With the new prefixes, the mass of the Earth, for example, can be described as 6 ronnagrams, and the mass of Jupiter as 2 quettagrams. Now the SI system can be left untouched for another 20-25 years, humanity’s need for large numbers has been temporarily satisfied.
