How can I manage units in pandas data?
<p>I'm trying to figure out if there is a good way to manage <em>units</em> in my pandas data. For example, I have a <code>DataFrame</code> that looks like this:</p>

<pre><code>   length (m)  width (m)  thickness (cm)
0         1.2        3.4             5.6
1         7.8        9.0             1.2
2         3.4        5.6             7.8
</code></pre>

<p>Currently, the measurement units are encoded in column names. Downsides include:</p>

<ol>
<li>column selection is awkward -- <code>df['width (m)']</code> vs. <code>df['width']</code></li>
<li>things will likely break if the units of my source data change</li>
</ol>

<p>If I wanted to strip the units out of the column names, is there somewhere else that the information could be stored?</p>