Should the Unit of Momentum Be Named After Emmy Noether?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the proposal to name the unit of momentum after Emmy Noether, potentially as the "noether" or "emmynoether." Participants explore the implications of this naming, including its cultural significance, potential acceptance within the scientific community, and the broader context of gender representation in scientific nomenclature.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express support for naming the unit after Noether, emphasizing the importance of recognizing women in science.
  • Others question the practicality and necessity of creating a new unit, suggesting it may serve more as a symbolic gesture than a functional addition to scientific nomenclature.
  • There are concerns about whether the proposed unit would gain acceptance as an official SI unit, with some indicating it would likely remain a US-only designation.
  • Participants discuss the implications of naming conventions, including the potential for confusion and the precedent it sets for other units.
  • Some argue that Noether's contributions, while significant, do not align with the traditional criteria for naming physical units, leading to a debate over her classification as a physicist or mathematician.
  • Several comments reflect on historical figures and their contributions, questioning the distinction between physicists and mathematicians in the context of naming units.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether the unit should be named after Noether, with multiple competing views on the appropriateness and implications of such a decision remaining unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the limitations of the proposal, including its dependence on cultural perceptions and the lack of a formal process for introducing new units into the SI system.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those involved in scientific nomenclature, gender representation in science, and the history of physics and mathematics.

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  • #32
In 1888, a committee of the British Association proposed "bole" as the name for the unit of momentum. (link)
 
  • #34
That unit name is unknown in the English wikipedia. I am not sure I would trust the statement in the German wikipedia. It does not seem likely that the British Association in 1888 was unaware of a unit name conflict. In contrast, they said the uncouthness of some of these terms was put forward as a reason for their adoption, as their unfamiliarity would compel closer attention ands lead to their being easily remembered.
link
 
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  • #35
Orthoceras said:
I am not sure I would trust the statement in the German wikipedia.
I cannot see why someone would invent this. Criticizing the source is cheap, but that doesn't make it wrong.

They say that Bole was used in Denmark https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bol where it was written Bol and in the neighboring German region for farmland, and in Scottland for volume: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firlot where they wrote it Boll. A bole measured grain in England: https://www.sizes.com/units/bole.htm

However, you can doubt every source on the internet I ever could mention.

But they noted their references

A Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English.
London: Henry G. Bohn, 1857.
Page 233.

and also that it was proposed for momentum:

Latimer Clark.
A Dictionary of Metric and Other Useful Measures.
London: E & F.N. Spon, 1891.
 
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