I Should the Unit of Momentum Be Named After Emmy Noether?

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A proposal has emerged to name a unit of momentum after Emmy Noether, potentially called the "Noether" or "emmynoether," with some advocating for the latter to highlight her gender. This unit would likely not be recognized by the International System of Units (SI) and might only be adopted in the US, raising concerns about its legitimacy and practicality. Discussions have included the irony of creating a new unit without SI endorsement and suggestions to instead name a unit for torque to avoid confusion. Some participants question the necessity of a new unit, viewing it as more of a sociological gesture than a scientific one. The conversation reflects broader issues of gender representation in scientific nomenclature and the challenges of integrating new units into established systems.
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  • #32
In 1888, a committee of the British Association proposed "bole" as the name for the unit of momentum. (link)
 
  • #33
Orthoceras said:
In 1888, a committee of the British Association proposed "bole" as the name for the unit of momentum. (link)
Bole is (was?) already in use, so it's not really an alternative.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bole_(Einheit)
 
  • #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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