Verified answer

They are the same thing. We stay away from ㎛, ㎕, and ㎠ only because they arent on the keyboard. But they are comprised of shapes and letters and numbers which can be typed in nonetheless. We merely break it down into its constituant parts and write it character for character. The only difference is within the context of a computer: the computer recognizes ㎛, ㎕, and ㎠ as three unique symbols while µm, µl and cm² are seven unique figures. We read them the same but the computer treats them differently.

The only reason why some people use u instead of µ is because they dont know how to type it in, since its not on the keyboard. I know how to type µ. But I never even knew ㎛, ㎕, or ㎠ existed until you showed me.

Most of the English speaking world uses the metric system, by the way. Including the US, although it is not mainstream.

The United States is the only country I know of that does not use the metric system. Canada (where I live) is quite schizophrenic. We use both, depending on what we are talking about. Land is still imperial, but gasoline, lab results, temperature, distances and weights are all metric. Food however is listed both ways. 454 grams is 1 pound and both are on our packages. Volume is Imperial in the kitchen and metric practically everywhere else.

Now to your question. I don't know how to type in the abbreviations you've asked about. This editor doesn't make it any easier. It is primitive to say the least.Even if I did know, I likely would still try and use something on the keyboard rather than go looking for a symbol that I likely won't remember the next time I need it. Lazy? Yes indeed. But I do give answers and most of the time they are correct.

The micro (µ) symbol can be typed on a PC keyboard by holding down the ALT key and typing 0181 (µ) on the number pad. It is also accessible in nearly every font through Character Map (Start/Accessories/System Tools/Character Map).

yes, but fewer people will know what you are talking about