luke warm Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 just imagine all the changes this will result in... true, it isn't exactly a new metal, just a new way of utilizing it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S2000magic Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 I do wish that authors of scientific articles such as this - who should know better - would refrain from using phrases like "1,000 times thinner than a human hair" when they mean "1/1,000 as thick as a human hair". If it were 1,000 times thinner, it would be -999 times as thin. That's probably thinner than the author imagined. Apart from that, the stuff looks really interesting. I saw another article on it through a link on a magicians' forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 What's your logic for saying "1,000 times thinner" literally means "-999 times as thin"? Do you really think anyone could possibly misinterpret that description in the way you imagine? I can't even figure out what "-999 times as thin" means -- there's no such thing as negative thickness or thinness. Has anyone ever used the expression "N times thinner" in any way other than to mean "1/N times as thick"? That's simply what the phrase means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S2000magic Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 What's your logic for saying "1,000 times thinner" literally means "-999 times as thin"? Do you really think anyone could possibly misinterpret that description in the way you imagine? I can't even figure out what "-999 times as thin" means -- there's no such thing as negative thickness or thinness. Has anyone ever used the expression "N times thinner" in any way other than to mean "1/N times as thick"? That's simply what the phrase means.So, if they'd said it's 50% thinner, would that mean that it's twice as thick (1 / 50% = 2)? If not, then you're saying that "twice as thin" means the same thing as "50% thinner". I'm sorry, but that makes no sense. You're correct: there's no such thing as negative thickness. That was precisely my point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BunnyGo Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 I do wish that authors of scientific articles such as this - who should know better - would refrain from using phrases like "1,000 times thinner than a human hair" when they mean "1/1,000 as thick as a human hair". If it were 1,000 times thinner, it would be -999 times as thin. That's probably thinner than the author imagined. Apart from that, the stuff looks really interesting. I saw another article on it through a link on a magicians' forum. That was a quote from the lead author of the paper. While I agree with you, it is still the normal colloquial usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BunnyGo Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 just imagine all the changes this will result in... true, it isn't exactly a new metal, just a new way of utilizing it Cool! Maybe a space elevator can be made from these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbodell Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 If not, then you're saying that "twice as thin" means the same thing as "50% thinner". I'm sorry, but that makes no sense. It does too make sense. The % changes the meaning significantly. His income is twice mine! His income is 100% more than mine! His income is 200% mine! All of those mean the same thing. A cm is 100 times smaller than 1 m. A cm is 1% of 1 m. It works with smaller too. This construction was good enough for Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle and Jonathan Swift and this researcher and his peer reviewers/editors. Therefore I think it is good enough for me and barmar and most other English speakers (See Eugene Volokh for more discussion of the issue). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S2000magic Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 It does too make sense. The % changes the meaning significantly. His income is twice mine! His income is 200% mine! All of those mean the same thing.Yes, your examples make sense, because 200% = twice. Fifty percent smaller shouldn't mean the same thing as 2 times smaller because 50% ≠ 2 times. It isn't the % sign that's changing the meaning; it's the meaning of the numbers that's changing the meaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerben42 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Hmm it's a bit like micromail :) Dwarfs would love this! Cool! Maybe a space elevator can be made from these? Not really, for that you need material with large tensile strength. Nanotubes would work though :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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