Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon
Note I'm assuming the nomenclature "dtons" is "decatons," not "decitons;"...
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Traveller "dtons" are displacement tons, a measure of volume. They are based on the density of liquid hydrogen (0.070 metric ton per m3), theoretically because so much of a ship's volume is consumed with liquid hydrogen tankage. Most versions round this to 1 dton = 14 m3; GURPS Traveller uses 500 cf instead.
This usage hadn't stabilized when classic Traveller was written, however, and so one can find places where "tons" clearly means "metric tons" rather than "displacement tons."