desj@brahms (David desJardins) (10/15/86)
In article <748@hplabsc.UUCP> dsmith@hplabsc.UUCP (David Smith) writes: >> >> I = m V / m g = V / g >> sp e o e o > >But why is it defined with that silly g-naught in the denominator? >(all together now!) > > TO JUSTIFY MEASURING IT IN SECONDS! David Smith is clearly right. The *only* possible justification for introducing a factor of g0 -- a completely arbitrary constant from the point of view of, say, a lunar lander! -- is to make things simpler for those who use the English system and don't know enough to distinguish between pounds and pounds-mass (or slugs). That it has always been done that way is no excuse. The misunder- standings of the past are no justification for continuing a source of confusion in the future. -- David desJardins