I've long been fascinated with the mechanics of language and how it is used. This week we look at how the names of physical units arose.
Within the last century, the language of science has been universally codified. A farad in France is a farad in Uruguay. This has made communication between scientists much easier, and has the added benefit of breaking down political and language barriers. I think that some of the choices of these words of science leave a little to be desired. Zepto makes me think of the Marx brothers for instance, and not the prefix of measurement that measures very small things like atoms. Still, that's better than the unit for electrical conductance, which is nearly as bad the name for our seventh planet (originally named George, and might have been more respectable in the long run had it stayed that way).
