 I'm
devastated. The first Mars probe crashed because somebody didn't convert
kilometers to miles properly.
I really
wish I had been born in 2500, instead of 1946. The world is getting
more exciting every day and I won't be here to see it when mankind
finally explores the stars.
But,
let's explore measurements right here on your computer. If you've
ever wondered just what a pica and point were, now you'll know.
I learned
about them when I typeset the old DAK 1 catalog back in the 70s.
OK, a pica
is an abnormal craving for unnatural foods, such as chalk or ashes.
But
that's not the type of pica we are dealing with. A pica is a unit
of space equal to 1/6th of an inch. There are 6 picas to an inch.
(Actually there are 6.022499489 picas to the inch but 6 is the accepted
number.) That's pretty simple. It was probably derived from the Latin
pica referring to the size of the type used in church services.
A point
is equal to one 1/12 of a pica. So, if there are 12 points in a pica
and 6 picas to an inch, you get 72 points to the inch.
And this
does matter because we use this every day. When somebody says use
72-point type, they mean 1 inch high type. 36-point type is 1/2 inch
tall. Actually it's pretty simple, isn't it?
Here's
where it could get confusing but we won't let it. Your monitor has
about 72 pixels to the inch (some go as high as 85 pixels to the inch,
which is why I say about).
Anyway,
if your type size is 72 pixels high, you coincidentally end up with
the same measurement as points. This is just a coincidence and it's
not 100% accurate, but it's close.
Below is
a graph for those of us that are visual learners showing THE RELATIONSHIP
between points and picas in reference to an inch.
For this
representation, I've used 1 pixel as a point, 12 pixels as a pica
and 72 pixels as an inch. On most monitors the size is correct. The
relationship is correct on all monitors. Now you're an expert.
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