Subject: Expanding on the Quenya Measurement System.
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Posted on: 2020-07-30 10:45:22 UTC

Length

Base unit: ranga = 38 inches ('Numenorean Yard').

5000 rangar = 1 lár ('league', approx. 3 miles)

Time

Base unit: lúmë = 1 hour

24 lúmi = 1 ré (day) 365 ri + 5.81 lúmi = 1 coronar (solar year, defined precisely by Tolkien as 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 46 seconds) 144 coronari = 1 yén (Great Year)

Weight

Base unit: Mírim = 1 pennyweight (0.055 oz). Quite pleased to find this is an actual British unit, and does actually mean the weight of a silver penny.

1/24 mírimi = 1 milin ('grain'; the English pennyweight = 24 grains, so why not?)

Power

Technically unnecessary, but it makes things easier when working with energy:

Base unit: *Poldore rocco = 1 horsepower ('strength of a horse') = 745.7 watts. (We're using the imperial horsepower here; I don't think Tolkien liked metric.)

Temperature

This one was a struggle, until I remembered the original definition of a degree Celcius:

Base unit: *Niculallo welelanna = 100 C ('from freezing to boiling')

'wele' is actually an early, Qenya verb, but it seems to still be of a valid form, and... well, there's nothing better.

Quantity

Purely for entertainment value:

Base unit: *Noldare = 1 mol ('mole' in early Qenya. You know... the animal. ^_^)

Luminous intensity

I assumed this one would be impossible, but if I'm allowed pennyweight, then:

Base unit: Lícuma = 1 candlepower = 0.981 candela ('candle'). :D

Electricity can go hang; there's no way to get there within Tolkien's vocabulary. Other than that, we now have 6 of the 7 SI base units covered, so we can calculate anything we like. The speed of light? 1.12 x 1012 rangar/lúmë. A McDonald's Happy Meal? 4.3 x 10-8 poldore rocco-lúmi.

Tell your friends.

hS

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