Xref: utzoo sci.electronics:8391 rec.ham-radio:14480 sci.astro:5594 sci.space:15112
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!kitty!larry
From: larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,rec.ham-radio,sci.astro,sci.space
Subject: Re: Trying to build a fluxgate magnetometer -- help!
Summary: Changing times and changing units...
Keywords: MKS cgs flames
Message-ID: <3475@kitty.UUCP>
Date: 29 Oct 89 23:38:22 GMT
References: <1914@sactoh0.UUCP> <28601@buckaroo.mips.COM> <1989Oct29.174631.12960@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, NY
Lines: 34

In article <1989Oct29.174631.12960@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>, mcdonald@aries.uiuc.edu (Doug McDonald) writes:
> >>I would like to measure changes at least as small as
> >>10 gammas (.001 Gauss), and if possible, even smaller.
> >
> >?  You mean of course, nanotesla (nT), since 1954.  :-)
> 
> I have been in the science business for over 20 years and have
> never heard anyone refer to magnetic fields in Tesla - everyone
> uses gauss. It is true that people know that someone somewhere
> created a unit of magnetic field called a Tesla, but no one
> remembers how many gauss are in one Tesla, and no one uses it.
> Sometimes it might appear in a textbook (usually directed at
> freshmen or sophmores - more advanced books use gauss).

	Speaking as a Gauss-person who would prefer to see otherwise :-),
I regret to inform you that the Tesla is indeed being used in the real
world to replace the Gauss as a unit of magnetic flux density measurement.

	Many magnetometer and magnetic instrument manufacturers, such
as F. W. Bell, Humphrey Inc., FRL Industries and Walker Scientific now
use the Tesla instead of the Gauss as their unit of specification.
However, it is somewhat amusing to note that while these vendors still
refer to certain products as "gaussmeters", they are now specified
using the Tesla as a unit of measurement; sort of an oxymoron, huh? :-)

	Since I have already survived and coped with the Pascal, the
change to Tesla was less traumatic than I had imagined.  Incidently,
the nanotesla (nT) seems to have replaced the gamma (.00001 Gauss) where
finer magnetic flux measurements are concerned.

<> Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp. - Uniquex Corp. - Viatran Corp.
<> UUCP  {allegra|boulder|decvax|rutgers|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry
<> TEL 716/688-1231 | 716/773-1700  {hplabs|utzoo|uunet}!/      \uniquex!larry
<> FAX 716/741-9635 | 716/773-2488      "Have you hugged your cat today?"