An abbreviation

[ewmon]

Some people say I never amounted to anything.

 

And some actually say that I'm of no account.

 

I'm also two kinds of measurements, but be careful how I'm spelled,

 

Because you could be off by a factor of 1.85×10¹².

 

And just to put a twist in things, I'm also somewhere.

 

Hmm ... What am I?

[md65536]

Hmm ... What am I?

 

 

 

Is one of your measurements on the order of 10^11??? Or 10^36??? I don't know what that one is...

 

 

 

 

 

[zapatos]

Hmm ... What am I?

Just a guess...

 

 

Mil

 

[md65536]

I think I know it...

 

 

 

You're as big as a continent. You go everywhere the sea goes. Yet you're also irrelevant.

 

I know one of your measurements, but not the other. One is obvious??? Are there any more slight hints on the other?

Is one number bigger than the other, or is it smaller???

 

 

 

 

 

[ewmon]

Is one of your measurements on the order of 10^11??? Or 10^36??? I don't know what that one is...

No.

 

Another clue: My two letters are in sequential alphabetical order ... backwards.

 

PS — In the OP, the word "somewhere" means that it also designates a place.

Edited May 24, 2012 by ewmon

[imatfaal]

 

Around the wrong way - but I think I have got it

 

https://www.google.c...=firefox-aurora

 

 

 

or round the correct way

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=1+nm+in+nautical+miles&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-aurora#hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-aurora&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aunofficial&sclient=psy-ab&q=1+nautical+mile+in+nm&oq=1+nautical+mile+in+nm&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=serp.2...8444.19972.0.20001.45.34.1.0.0.6.204.3044.25j7j1.33.0...2.0.AfX9BSSbTnY&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=94f5fbadffd079a8&biw=1067&bih=715

 

[md65536]

Oops, I was (a little) way off.

 

 

I thought it was NA.

Not applicable, literally standing for "no account" on some forms.

NA is a place and N_A is a measure of a number of molecules...

Unfortunately I guess it's only one measurement. So close that I didn't even consider it might be wrong! Actually I was so sure, that I misread/ignored 'sequential' to force NA to fit. :S

 

 

Edited May 25, 2012 by md65536

[ewmon]

Clue: It's near the middle of the alphabet.

[sammy7]

ml, megalitre 10^6, microlitre 10^-6, mali, where did the 1.85 come from? yawn easy game lol...cheated like hell on google loool

Edited May 27, 2012 by sammy7

[D H]

Along the same lines, is a das ten seconds or 0.1 arcseconds?

[ewmon]

Keep going. I never thought of ml, but that's a good one.

 

The factor of 1.85×10¹² is a clue of sorts because it's not an even power of 10.

[D H]

ml, megalitre 10^6, microlitre 10^-6

The abbreviations for a megaliter, milliliter, and microliter are respectively ML, mL, and μL. They are not the same.

[sammy7]

yessss nm nanometre 10^-9 NM nautical mile 1852 metres new mexico cheers weeee

Edited May 27, 2012 by sammy7

[ewmon]

Sammy got it!

 

Some people say I never amounted to anything. = Numquam Magnum (Latin: Never Great)

 

And some actually say that I'm of no account. = Not Measurable

 

I'm also two kinds of measurements, but be careful how I'm spelled,

 

Because you could be off by a factor of 1.85×10¹². = Nautical Mile / NanoMeter

 

And just to put a twist in things, = Newton-Meter (a unit of torque)

 

I'm also somewhere. = New Mexico

[md65536]

 

or round the correct way

 

https://www.google.c...iw=1067&bih=715

 

 

I always find it strange when a puzzle is solved but the rest of the thread carries on obliviously.

 

Some people say I never amounted to anything. = Numquam Magnum (Latin: Never Great)

As well, "nm" is texting slang for nothing much, or nevermind.

 

...but next time I see someone reply with "nm", I'll be impressed with their Latin!