• randy@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    I’m an engineer, and I make it a point to teach young engineers that “a ton” can mean any one of three things:

    • Short ton = 2000 lb
    • Long ton = 2240 lb
    • Metric ton = 1000 kg = ~2204 lb

    And which is being used is often not spelled out, but is just known from context, and usually should be clarified. I once nearly got in trouble by thinking a measurement was in short tons when it was actually metric tons.

    So my own act of rebellion is to use “Mg” when I’m writing my personal notes.

    • Treczoks
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      1 year ago

      There is metric ton and this imperial shit. And thanks to metric being highly systematic, “Mg” (megagrams) is actually correct - “ton” is just a shorthand.