ABANDON THE TERM VOLTAGE FOR ELECTRICAL
TENSION
(Editor: there is a proposal by French representatives to abandon
the term "voltage" and the symbol "V" since
they originate from a proper name whereas "current"
and "power" do not. Notice "amperage" and
"wattage" are not used in IEEE articles. The following
is your CPMT Chair of Standards subdued reaction to this modest
proposal -editor)
The International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) is proposing
the banning of the use of the term "Voltage" and the
unit "Volt" from international use and all textbooks.
Jack Balde, the Standards chair for CPMT is a de facto member
of the US committee SCC10 for the IEC that is opposed to this
action. In voting for the CPMT on that committee, he sent the
following document on behalf of the IEEE CPMT:
"To force a back-formation of a generic name for voltage
because the term Voltage is named after a scientist or researcher
is barbaric. So what if the entity is named after a person?
While there is a generic name for resistance, and its unit the
Ohm, Capacitance is the entity and the unit the Farad, and power
the entity and its unit the Watt. So we have no entity for Electric
potential, - why invent one? Voltage is just fine.
If a term in needed, why not Electric Potential? Certainly
that was the term used, not Electric Tension. It might as well
be Field Stress, Electric Anxiety, or Electromagnetic Force?
All are equally possible and equally deplorable and mostly silly.
To claim voltage has to be abandoned and we have to invent a
term that is not attributed to a person is only a sham. The clue
is that the unit proposed is the "U". If the proposal
is accepted, and Electric Tension is the only approved quantity
name, certainly the Unit should be "V" for Volts, not
"U". (121-11-27 symbols "U") This is a clear
rejection of the use of "Volt" even for the Electrical
Unit.
This seems to be no more than Francophiles trying to eliminate
the reference to Volta, an Italian, or else to oppose a term just
because it has a wide following in the English speaking world.
Strict logic is a poor excuse for re-writing all the textbooks
of the world.
English is the international language of Engineering, not French,
no matter what these Frenchmen think. I STRONGLY OPPOSE the need
to re-write all textbooks of the world and all conference proceedings
to change to a silly term like Electric Tension, or one of the
equally silly alternative terms for the standard and world-wide
recognized term volt and voltage. I particularly object to the
elimination of "V" as the symbol.
This can also be a translation problem - a Volt is a Volt in
Japan, why would tension or anxiety or stress or potential be
better as a term? If the Standard Oil people can abandon ESSO
for EXXON because of language translation double meanings, think
of the possible double meanings of Tension or Anxiety or Stress
in Japanese.
I vote "NO" for myself and for the IEEE Components,
Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Society."
--John W. Balde, Standards Chair, IEEE CPMT
balde@IDConsulting.com
For further information, consult Ralph Showers, University of
Pennsylvania, showers@ee.upenn.edu