UNITS AND CONVERSION CHARTS
A Handbook for Engineers and Scientists
by Theodore Wildi
IEEE Press, New York 1991
IEEE Order Number: PP0267-5
ISBN 0-87942-273-4

EINSTEIN'S DREAMS (A NOVEL)
by Alan Lightman
Pantheon Books, New York 1993
PS3562.I45397E38 1993 813'.54--dc20 92-50465
ISBN 0-679-41646-3

THE DEEP SKY FIELD GUIDE TO URANOMETRIA 2000.0
by Cragin, Lucyk, Rappaport
Willmann-Bell, Inc, P.O.Box 35025, Richmond, VA 23235
QB65.C8 1992 523'.8'022'3--dc20 92-27060 CIP
ISBN 0-943396-38-7


As systems of measurement evolved in various parts of the world, they
produced a large number of units. Theodore Wildi's handbook shows in an
exceptionally clear and useful way how these units relate to each
other, and how they are defined. Its principal advantage lies in the
conversion of units, a process made exceedingly simple by a set of new
conversion charts. They enable the engineer, scientist and technician
to make rapid and clear-cut conversions between units of the American
Customary system, the English system, former metric systems, and the
International System of Units (SI).

The conversion charts rank the units by order of size so that the
relationship between any two units can be found quickly and without
ambiguity. They significantly reduce the time usually needed to consult
handbooks, tables and so forth, in solving engineering and scientific
problems. The units of various quantities such as force, pressure,
viscosity, etc., are displayed by means of conversion charts. The
charts show the relative size of the unit by the position it occupies
on the page. The largest unit is at the top, the smallest at the bottom
and intermediate units are ranked in between.

SI units and their multiples and sub-multiples appear in red (gray as
reproduced here) boxes on the conversion charts. Because they are
connected by flyers ("flyers" are introduced to bypass a series of
units) that are multiples of ten, it is possible to move swiftly from
one end of the chart to the other should a conversion between
widely-separated units be required. Exact conversion numbers are in
red, the remaining black numbers are accurate to the number of
significant figures shown. The conversion rule is simple - with the
arrow, multiply - against the arrow - divide. For example a parsec
equals 3.2616 light years.


	Fig. No. 1


The charts are based on values published by the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI), the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), the Bureau International des Poids et Mesres,
The Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.(IEEE). Because
the charts are universal, conversions can be made quickly and
confidently. Official symbols for all SI units are given, along with
the name of the unit. For dimensional analysis, the charts show the
dimensions of units in terms of SI base units (shown in brackets).

In addition, five appendices contain useful information on units,
including: an overview of the International System of Units; the
meaning of quantities, units, and standards; the theory and
interpretation of decibel measurements; selected physical constants;
the application of quantity equations and numerical equations in
solving technical problems.


Alan Lightman's EINSTEIN'S DREAMS (A NOVEL) is about the size of a
Gideon Bible found in lodgings across the country. The book's paper
jacket has the feel of quality. Inside the book.... It is ten minutes
past six by the invisible clock on the wall. Minute by minute new
objects gain form. In the dim light of morning the young patent clerk
sprawls in his chair, head down on his desk. For the past several
months, he has dreamed many dreams about time. His dreams have taken
hold of his research. But the dreaming is finished. Out of the many
possible natures of time, imagined in as many nights, on seems
compelling. Not that the others are impossible. The others might exist
in other worlds.

The patent clerk is Albert Einstein. In his dreams he imagines new
worlds, in which time can be circular, or flow backwards, or slow down
at higher altitudes, or take the form of a nightingale.

EINSTEIN'S DREAMS is an enchantment and a literary adventure, one which
Salman Rushdie has compared to Italo Calvino's INVISIBLE CITIES: "And I
really can't think of higher praise. It is at once intellectually
provocative and touching and comic and so very beautifully written.
Quite frankly I haven't been so excited by a novel, let alone a first
novel, for a very long time."


Walter Scott Houston writes, "I tell you what follows because THE DEEP
SKY FIELD GUIDE TO URANOMETRIA 2000.0 (DSFG) is one of those rare
frontier-busting events that will permanently alter the course of
amateur astronomy. This is not a catalog in the 19th century sense. It
is more like a data file of easy access. It is not built for the coffee
table but to augment another frontier buster--URANOMETRIA 2000.0."

"What can we expect from the DSFG and its twin, URANOMETRIA 2000.0? For
one thing the constellations, useful as they were to goat herders 5000
years ago and despite the cultural job they provide for historians, are
nothing but obstacles to today's fast-lane observers. The URANOMETRIA
2000.0 map number is now the key to the data."

"With... [this book] and URANOMETRIA 2000.0, you are about to
experience the joy of having a map to 9.5 magnitude and the non-stellar
tabular data for just that map.  The working package is now map + guide
and a telescope. That is all you need to begin your assault. And if a
nova or comet intrudes on your dreams you can check immediately, no
running back to the house to find the right catalog. This bridge, this
union, will come from this symbiosis of map-guide-telescope-observer."

THE DEEP SKY FIELD GUIDE TO URANOMETRIA 2000.0 is the outgrowth of
projects begun separately by Murray Cragin and James Lucyk, who,
shortly after the introduction of URANOMETRIA 2000.0, began to create
map-by-map lists of the non-stellar objects to aid themselves when
observing at the telescope. The premise was simple: for the first time
they would bring together, under one cover, all pertinent data for
URANOMETRIA 2000.0's deep-sky objects in an easy-to-use-format.

The DSFG provides, by URANOMETRIA 2000.0 chart number, basic
"observable" catalog information for some 14,000 non-stellar
objects...  469 mini-catalogs, one table for each map that plots at
least one deep-sky object.


	Fig. No. 2


Perry Willmann Remaklus writes, "And what is the result? Is it
perfect?  Anyone who works with astronomical data soon learns that
perfection is impossible--even as we prepare the final copy the
telephone lines buzz across the continent and into the early morning
hours with last minute corrections. But now, all that we know that
needs fixing has been fixed.  It's time to go to press, and under these
crisp November [1992] night skies with U2000.0 and the galleys from
DSFG at hand, I marvel anew at what has been accomplished. With their
efforts writ large for all to see, James Lucyk and Murray Cragin now
join Wil Tirion, Barry Rappaport, and George Lovi as mappers of the
night sky. And to you, the user, thank you for your support of U2000.0
and your help and understanding in making the subsequent editions of
U2000.0 and DSFG even better."

						     -S. Wormley