Regarding tiny nonbreaking spaces, is there a difference between using a ~ (tilde) and using \, (backslash comma)? If so, what is the difference, in terms of length, properties, situations where you would use one over the other, etc.?
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Nicholas Wong
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The difference between a normal unbreakable space and a thin unbreakable space: \, is 1/6em, while ~ is, if I'm not mistaken, what TeX denotes \fontdimen2, the interword space.
Bernard
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5~kg will not be broken across lines but can be stretched, if needed by TeX: 5 kg. 5\,kg cannot be stretched.
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2Ok, just to clarify, can
\,be broken across lines? I was not clear from https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/74353/what-commands-are-there-for-horizontal-spacing if this was the case. – Nicholas Wong Sep 12 '17 at 10:25 -
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\,is fixed, but that of~is not. In that case, could~be shorter than\,in certain instances? – Nicholas Wong Sep 12 '17 at 10:21\,is fixed for a given font. – Bernard Sep 12 '17 at 10:33