Physics for Geologists, Second edition

Appendix
Pronunciation
I take the liberty of suggesting the pronunciation of a few words and names
that sometimes give difficulty. In doing this, I am aware, as you must be
aware, of the advice given by H. W. Fowler in his A Dictionary of modern
English usage (Oxford University Press, 1926): 'Pronounce as your neigh-
bours do, not better'. And, on the pronunciation of French words; 'All that
is necessary is a polite acknowledgement of indebtedness to the French lan-
guage indicated by some approach in some part of the word to the foreign
sound. . .'.
In the SI units with prefixes, the emphasis is on the first syllable: nan'ometre
(nann'ometer), mill'imetre, cent'imetre, and so also, logically, kil'ometre
(kill'ometer), like kil'ogram. The tonne rhymes with con (perhaps not in
North America!) to distinguish it from the non-SI unit of weight, the ton
rhyming with bun.
Of the French scientists, Bouguer is pronounced boo-gair with a hard g;
Fermat, fair-ma; Fresnel, fray-nel; Poiseuille, pwa-seij (very roughly);
Poisson, pwa-son rhyming with on, roughly.
The Dutch scientist Huygens (sometimes spelled Huyghens) is pronounced
high'gens, roughly, with a hard g.
Answer to problem on buoyancy (p. 24)
When you put the dinghy in the water, the water level in the lake rises. You
get into the dinghy and the water level rises. It rises when you take the stone
on board, and again when you take the wood on board.
When you throw the stone overboard, the water level falls, but not by as
much as it rose when the stone was put in the dinghy. In the dinghy, the
stone displaces its weight of water: in the water, it sinks and displaces its
volume of water. It displaces more water when it is in the dinghy than it
does when it is thrown overboard.
There is no change when you throw the wood overboard. The wood floats,
so it displaces its weight of water in the pond as well as in the boat.
Copyright 2002 by Richard E. Chapman