In sci.space.policy message 86a84a77-00fe-4d30-96a7-f028198ea46b@qg3g20
00pbc.googlegroups.com, Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:52:36, Quadibloc
posted:

On Mar 21, 12:11*am, (Harold Groot) wrote:
On Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:24:37 +1100, Alan Erskine
wrote:

What's a "metric ton" as mentioned in this article?

A metric ton is 1000 kilograms. *It equals 2205 pounds.

This is not the same as the English ton (aka long ton), which is 2240
pounds. And of course, it is not the same as the American/Canadian ton
(aka short ton) of 2000 pounds.

The "metric ton" is also sometimes called the "tonne". But I'm
surprised that it never seems to be called what it is: a megagram.
People seeing _that_ name would immediately know the value of the
unit.

It is not common because the gram is not the SI base unit. The kilogram
is the SI base unit, symbol kg. It should be renamed the klog, symbol
kg, and then a Tonne would eventually become a kkg and a gram a mkg.


RC : mT is not suitable, since it is SI for milliTesla (which is a
moderately convenient amount of magnetic flux density). Moreover, in a
mass context, mT looks as if it might be milliTonne.

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