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Tobermory4-Participant
4-Participant
May 7, 2025
Solved

Why is kW recognised as a unit but kJ is not?

  • May 7, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 1073 views

MathCAD seems to recognise milli-, kilo- and mega- versions of certain units (eg mW, kW, MW, mm, km) but not others (eg kJ, MJ, kmol).  I find that I am almost always having to start a worksheet by defining kJ or kmol ... which is a real nuisance and seems unneccesary.

 

So:

- what is the rationale behind the units that have kilo-, milli- or mega- versions?

- is there a way of ensuring that these combos are defined for every worksheet (the new Prime 11 units change is no help here)?

 

    Best answer by Werner_E

    I can't comment on the rationale behind the decision why some prefixes for some units are implement while others are not as I am not a developer of the software, just a long term user.

    This appraisal will probably vary depending on the industry in which you operate. Some things may also be due to historical reasons and simply have been adopted from old Mathcad versions. The necessity of slug, fortnight, furlong or Smoot can certainly be debated. 😉
    There is also a section here in the forum where you can submit product ideas that other users can then vote up or down and which could (supposedly) be incorporated into product development if there is sufficient interest. It would at least be worth a try to make suggestions for further unit names there.

    1 reply

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    Werner_E25-Diamond I
    25-Diamond I
    May 7, 2025

    You could make a template which contains a collapsed region at the top with all the missing units defined and make it your default template.

    That way every worksheet you create will have these units available.

    As an alterative you may insert an "Include" statement at the top which includes a worksheet containing the unit definitions.

      T
      Tobermory4-ParticipantAuthor
      4-Participant
      May 7, 2025

      Both excellent answers to the second question (I wasn't aware of the include statement feature - I'll have to read up on that).  Many thanks - I'll probably adjust my template, since I think that makes the worksheet more portable.

       

      I wonder whether you can help with the first - why is it the way it is at the moment (i.e. kW is defined but not kJ)?

      W
      Werner_E25-Diamond IAnswer
      25-Diamond I
      May 7, 2025

      I can't comment on the rationale behind the decision why some prefixes for some units are implement while others are not as I am not a developer of the software, just a long term user.

      This appraisal will probably vary depending on the industry in which you operate. Some things may also be due to historical reasons and simply have been adopted from old Mathcad versions. The necessity of slug, fortnight, furlong or Smoot can certainly be debated. 😉
      There is also a section here in the forum where you can submit product ideas that other users can then vote up or down and which could (supposedly) be incorporated into product development if there is sufficient interest. It would at least be worth a try to make suggestions for further unit names there.

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