Off TopicAre you a QOTWer? Do you want to start a thread that isn't a direct answer to the current QOTW? Then this place, gentle poster, is your friend.
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rob, Sun 1 Apr 2001, 1:00)
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@spakkaA scalar quantity is one which has only magnitude, unlike a vector, which has magnitude and direction. But a scalar can have a unit. For example, distance is a scalar quantity; displacement is not. They both use length units.
A dimensionless number is one which is a ratio of two identical quantities, in terms of their units. Pi is the best known example - it's the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle. No matter what units you use to measure these quantities, they cancel out.
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K2k6 has a proper job these days, Thu 10 Jul 2008, 22:44,
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