.po 1i
.TH UNITS 1 Bell
.V 08/15/84 17:08:50
.\" @[$]units.1	1.7	08/15/84 17:08:50 - Zilog Inc.
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.SH NAME
units \- conversion program
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B units
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B Units
converts quantities expressed in various standard scales to
their equivalents in other scales.
It works interactively in this fashion:
.PP
.I "	You have:"
inch
.br
.I "	You want:"
cm
.br
.I "		* 2.54000e+00
.br
.I "		\*/ 3.93701e\-01
.PP
A quantity is specified as a multiplicative combination of
units optionally preceded by a numeric multiplier.
Powers are indicated by suffixed positive integers,
division by the usual sign:
.PP
.I "	You have:"
15 pounds force/in2
.br
.I "	You want:"
atm
.br
.I "		* 1.02069e+00"
.br
.I "		\*/ 9.79730e\-01"
.PP
.I Units 
only does multiplicative scale changes. 
Thus it can convert Kelvin to Rankine, but not Centigrade to
Fahrenheit.
Most familiar units, abbreviations, and metric prefixes 
are recognized, together with a generous leavening of
exotica and a few constants of nature including:
.PP
.ta 1.5i
pi	ratio of circumference to diameter
.br
c	speed of light
.br
e	charge on an electron
.br
g	acceleration of gravity 
.br
force	same as g
.br
mole	Avogadro's number
.br
water	pressure head per unit height of water
.br
au	astronomical unit
.ta
.PP
`Pound' is a unit of mass.
Compound names are run together, e.g. `lightyear'.
British units that differ from their US counterparts
are prefixed thus: `brgallon'.
Currency is denoted `belgiumfranc', `britainpound', ...
For a complete list of units, `cat /usr/lib/units'.
.SH FILES
/usr/lib/units