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Use SI prefixes for money

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Using "m" and "bn" for millions/billions of currency units is silly - "£350m", for example is not consistent with how quantities are represented anywhere else and is confusing, because "m" is supposed to mean "milli-" or 1/1000. Instead, £350m should be written as 350M£, $12bn as 12G$, and a salary of £60,000 should be written as 60k£
hippo, Oct 01 2017

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       Excellent. While we're about it, can we sort out the capitalization thing? Why is "mega" M and "milli" m, whilst "kilo" is k?   

       We ought to rearrange things so that (a) the same letter is used for the multiple and the reciprocal and (b) uppercase is multiple, and lowercase is reciprocal. So, we would have:   

       gV=nanovolt mV= microvolt kV= millivolt V=volt KV= kilovolt MV=megavolt GV=gigavolt   

       Also, there should be a more consistent relationship between the full name of the multiple and of the reciprocal. So, replace "milli" with "killi", "micro" with "megi" and "nano" with "gigi".   

       Admittedly, hospitalizations might increase during the transition period, but it would be better in the long run.
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 01 2017

       I'm not in favour of changing the names of the prefixes - keeping to a regime of Ancient Greek for the positive powers of ten and Latin for the negative powers of ten is a consistent rule and, crucially, occasionally allows people with a classical education an opportunity to show off (because it's no good for anything else...).
hippo, Oct 01 2017

       True. This probably explains why classicists make such long-lived electricians.
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 01 2017

       I’m not in favour of this idea. I’d have to stop telling people that last year I made £4.3m.
Ian Tindale, Oct 01 2017

       In imperial SI, $12bn in single notes, would actually be 12T$. If you were to stack them on end, then place them on your bathroom scale, that would be just about 12Mt.
mylodon, Oct 03 2017

       12 million metric tonnes, or mega tonnes, is pretty much the same as the amount of TNT you can put in 45,744,075 barrels.
mylodon, Oct 03 2017

       <manaical cackling>
8th of 7, Oct 03 2017

       //<manaical cackling>//   

       I'd go with 'cringing'.   

       //12 million metric tonnes, or mega tonnes//   

       12 megatons ? Ton metric, no ?   

       //pretty much the same as the amount of TNT you can put in 45,744,075 barrels//   

       12 megatons / 1 barrel = 12,000,000 kg / 120 litres = 100,000 barrels assuming the barrels are filled with something the same density as wine.   

       When I was kid though, I'd go to the corner sweet shop, and ask for a 1/4 stick of dynamite by weight worth of mints.
bigsleep, Oct 03 2017


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