Let's start with the politics: because the politicians did not find mutual agreement in time between the European Union and the United Kingdom, as of March 31, 2022, all mathematical, chemical, and physical units of measurement related to names of UK-born scientists will not be allowed to be used in the European Union and remain the exclusive legal property of the British Royal Academy of Sciences, Measurements and Distances.
Due to this overseen part of the Brexit deal (Agreement of the Withdrawal), it will not be possible for the EU to use several important measurement units, such as Newton, Watt, Joule, and many others. There is still some discussion going on about Kelvin, as he was Scots-Irish. The 'rights' (including lithographic and digital) will also extend to any images relating to the units in question with any pictures or representations of, say, Sir Isaac Newton pondering how an apple falls from a tree the said apple must now be, explicitly, an English Pippin variety (unbruised).
The missing agreement works in both directions, so British engineers have to do without Pascal, Hertz, Tesla, and many others - and other SI units of course.
The issue cause
The most relevant question must be: How come, nobody noticed this fact during the Brexit discussions between both parties?
The answer is unfortunately obvious. It was all caused by Sir Isaac Newton and, by extension, his laws. To make a long story short; this specific part of the Brexit deal fell out of favor from the Brexit committee table and was found when all the deals were already closed. The names of the engineers, physicists and scientists concerned are all trademarks of the respective countries, hence the confusion.
The Brexit deal - drawn up by politicians from both sides of the English Channel (not La Manche) - concentrated on the so-called important stuff regarding border control, subsidies and employment. It was so complex that it was instrumental in one British Prime Minister leaving their post.
Suffice to say that the deal not only divided Europe but also the United Kingdom. But there were few engineers involved in the fine print of the deal (or if there were, they were not neutral). This is why the naming conventions were missed in negotiations.
Engineering impact
Professor Proton of the Big Bang Institute states that "As you can imagine, the impact on European science and engineering will be colossal". Indeed it will be!
All structural engineers in the EU have to learn to calculate in other units than with Newtons. The units to be used are still being discussed. Obviously, Kips is already taken so we will be reverting back to base 12 forms of measurement!
Europe was supposed to develop a new system of units by the end of March 2022. So, as of today, April 1, 2022, all usage of the legal property of the British Royal Academy of Sciences is abandoned as the time limits imposed have expired.
One of the biggest issues and deal-blockers which is absolutely crucial for structural engineers is caused by interrelated units, such as Pascals and Newtons with the notoriously known formula: 1 Pa = 1 N/m2. This relationship bound the UK and Europe together (or so it seemed).
From the fire, the phoenix rises and this relationship between Pascal and Newton allows the remainder of Europe (and indeed further afield) to continue using units derived from the original.
Today, there comes a new "Pam" unit into force (excuse the pun). It has been derived from Newton as 1 Pa*m2, officially called "pamsquared", unofficially and logically called just "Pams".
Equally as convenient the moment force will be called "pamcubed" = 1 Pa*m3 ("Pamc").
IDEA StatiCa has your back
We have taken great care in making sure our software respects the new units immediately.
As of today, you can find the new units in our application. Whenever you choose the metric system for units, the load units are automatically counted in "Pams".
This improvement was implemented in the latest patch release IDEA StatiCa F000l.22, which is exclusively available only on April 1, 2022, on this link.
We completely understand your concerns about the use of the new units and the impact of this decision on your daily work.
On the other hand, we also believe that it is not necessary to take everything that someone writes here and there so seriously.
Happy April Fool's Day!
