Grammar, Punctuation and Capitalization - Handbook for Technical ...

Chapter 3. Punctuation Page 753.16. SlashA slash, also called solidus or virgule, can be correctly used (1) in and/or, (2) in fractions (x/y), (3) to indicateper (m/sec), and (4) when quoting poetry.Although most usage and grammar authorities do not acknowledge use of the slash in a temporary compound, itis being widely used to indicate temporary compounds. In drafts of NASA reports, we frequently find suchconstructions ashoop/column antennaboundary-layer/shock-wave interactionmatrices/vectorslateral/directional characteristicsIn the first example (hoop/column), those coining the new technical term seem to have chosen (erroneously) touse a slash rather than a hyphen; however, this term, meaning a combination of a hoop and a column, has beenwidely used with the slash. In the second example ( boundary-layer/shock-wave interaction), the slash is beingused as an en dash, or ``long hyphen.'' In the third example (matrices/vectors), the slash indicates alternatives, ausage that Tichy and Fourdrinier (1988) accept with caution. In the last example (lateral/directional), the slash isbeing used in a unit modifier that has been hyphenated for years.These four examples illustrate our objection to use of the slash in temporary compounds: Its meaning is not clear.• We therefore prefer that the slash be changed to a hyphen,to an en dash,The 15-m hoop-column antenna is a deployable and restowable structure.These phenomena result from shock-wave--boundary-layer interaction.or to and, or, or and/or,Operator splitting is additive decomposition of some matrices and vectors in the model.Of course, some technical terms have become standard with the slash (for example, V/STOL, stall/spin).• A term that is accepted as standard with a slash may be used with the slash.