Template:SI unit lowercase/doc

This is a documentation subpage for Template:SI unit lowercase.
It may contain usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page.

Usage edit

Code

{{SI unit lowercase|Blaise Pascal|pascal|Pa}}

Produces

The pascal is named after Blaise Pascal. As with every SI unit named for a person, its symbol starts with an upper case letter (Pa), but when written in full, it follows the rules for capitalisation of a common noun; i.e., pascal becomes capitalised at the beginning of a sentence and in titles but is otherwise in lower case.

Rationale edit

These are important SI-related rules that many get wrong, so it is better that we make them systematically conspicuous. Using the lowercase title template would be incorrect, since SI units behave like all other common nouns. The SI explicitly states that they can be capitalised at the beginning of sentences and in titles.