Lingusitics Is 3He:4He Ratio Redundant in Scientific Writing?

[matthyaouw]

"A high 3He:4He ratio signifies..."
I'm thinking that since the colon between the isotopes shows that it is a ratio already, using the word 'ratio' afterwards is a bit like writing PIN number. Is it acceptable to write it like this or should i get rid of the word 'ratio'?

 

[turbo]

To a mathematician, the word "ratio" might seem redundant, but the phrase scans better with the word included, IMO.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

Ya I think the word ratio belongs.

 

[Danger]

I've always taken the colon in such applications to represent the word 'to', since that's the way it's spoken. In that case, the inclusion of the word 'ratio' is correct.

 

[berkeman]

Or you could write it like this to avoid the redundancy but still keep it clear:

"A high ratio 3He:4He signifies..."

 

[Mk]

"A high 3He:4He ratio signifies..."
I'm thinking that since the colon between the isotopes shows that it is a ratio already, using the word 'ratio' afterwards is a bit like writing PIN number. Is it acceptable to write it like this or should i get rid of the word 'ratio'?

I would prefer in a previous sentence to say once that ³He:⁴He is a ratio and not need to be redundant.

 

[matthyaouw]

Brilliant. Thanks guys :)