Charts for a study
The wall beside a desk is prime reference space. Whatever hangs there gets consulted without a browser tab, without a search, and without the several minutes a search usually turns into.
What suits it is the material used mid-task: status codes and CSS properties, the working areas of Git, unit prefixes and paper formats, Morse and the phonetic alphabet, the Greek letters that turn up in every formula, and the size conversions wanted the moment something is ordered from abroad.
A4 is usually enough at desk distance. Print on white, on whatever printer is already in the room — that is what these files are built for.
CAMERA SENSORS
seven sizes at one scale, with the crop factor computed from the diagonal
SI BASE UNITS
seven constants given an exact number — and the seven units that follow from them
SI UNITS WITHOUT NAMES
the endless rest: assembled from the base and the named units, and never with a factor
SI DERIVED UNITS
twenty-two with names of their own — and what each one is made of
SI PREFIXES
from quetta to quecto · twenty multipliers
THE TALLEST BUILDINGS
the ten tallest at true scale — and where the floors in them end
THE WORLD'S TIME OFFSETS
37 offsets from UTC−11:00 to UTC+14:00 — a spread of 25 hours over a 24-hour day
THE AMERICAN WIRE GAUGE
forty-four sizes derived from two diameters and one law of progression
BICYCLE CLASSES
frame, wheel by ISO 5775 and handlebar — three signs of a class, and what the frame is rated for
CAR CLASSES
segments A to F by length and bodies by box count — how to name any car you see
MOTORCYCLE CLASSES
rake, trail, wheelbase and seat height — six classes drawn at one scale
PETROL AND DIESEL
nine lines of comparison, and in three of them the requirement is the same for both
THE RACING LINE
one corner, three apexes, the time computed
TYRE SIZE
what the sidewall marking is made of and what it works out to