The world of measurement has expanded! Four new metric prefixes—ronna, quetta, ronto, and quecto—were officially adopted at the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures held in Versailles, France. These additions address the ever-increasing need for expressing extremely large and small numbers in scientific research and data science.
Expanding the Measurement Spectrum
These new prefixes mark the first expansion of the metric system since 1991. Ronna and quetta represent massive quantities, while ronto and quecto denote incredibly small values. Specifically, ronna signifies a 1 followed by 27 zeros (10^27), and quetta represents a 1 followed by 30 zeros (10^30). Conversely, ronto is 10^-27, and quecto equates to 10^-30.
Addressing the Needs of Data Science
The growing demands of data science and digital storage played a key role in the adoption of these new prefixes. Existing prefixes like yottabytes and zettabytes are already being used to express vast amounts of digital information, highlighting the necessity for even larger units. These new prefixes can be used with any SI unit, enabling scientists to talk about ronnametres or quettagrams, for example.
The UK’s National Physics Laboratory, involved in the adoption process, explained that these additions are crucial for accommodating the increasing scale of data in scientific fields.
Putting the New Prefixes into Perspective
Richard Brown, head of the National Physics Laboratory, provided tangible examples of these prefixes in use. He stated that Earth weighs approximately 6 ronnagrams, while Jupiter weighs about 2 quettagrams. Following the established naming convention, prefixes for larger numbers end in ‘a’, like ‘giga’ and ‘tera’, while prefixes for smaller numbers end in ‘o’, like ‘nano’ and ‘pico’.
Responding to Unofficial Usage
Brown also noted that the rise of unofficial units, such as brontobytes and hellabytes, used in media reports about data storage, further emphasized the need for officially recognized prefixes for extreme numbers. The adoption of these prefixes aims to standardize and facilitate clear communication within the scientific community and beyond.
The Future of Measurement
These new prefixes are expected to suffice for the foreseeable future. However, the constant advancements in science and technology may eventually necessitate even more expansive units of measurement. Only time will tell what innovations will drive the next expansion of the metric system.
