|
|
|
Biotechnology Rather Than Aid Can Alleviate Poverty
G8 leaders have agreed to boost aid to Africa by $25 billion by
2010. The G8 countries include USA, Canada, Britain, France,
Japan, Russia, Germany and Italy. As expected, Africa is in
celebration mood. To many, this announcement heralds the...
Dr Sangeeta Sahi Interview
Dr Sangeeta Sahi is an inspiration. Not only is she a qualified
medical doctor she also holds an Masters of Business
Administration (MBA) (a rare feat by anyones imagination!)
She is currently breaking ground in the field of Quantum
Medicine...
Feb. 12 is "Darwin Day" -- Secular Americans Celebrate B'day of Evolution Champ
This Feb. 12 marks the 196th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth! The day has special significance for America's nearly 30 million nonreligious people. In the humanist community, Feb. 12 is "Darwin Day." "Darwin has become an all-purpose icon...
How to Shop for Satellite TV Receivers and Dishes
Let’s face it, Internet readers, most of us are guys. And as red-blooded American guys, we all have men’s desires, men’s needs. Don’t play coy. You know what I’m talking about. We want it faster, more creative, more imaginative, and not to put too...
Quotes to Think About
INSPIRATIONAL COMMENTS: “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance – that principle is contempt prior to investigation. – Herbert...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
How the Meter Came To Be
One can know where one is in the world by the systems of
measurement that specific place uses. There is the English
system used by the United States, which uses pounds and feet for
measurement, and then there is the metric system which is more
accepted in other parts of the so-called civilized world.
While there are three types of systems of units of use today,
the most popular one by far is the International System of Units
(or the SI Systeme International d'Unites).
A measurement in this particular system with regards to length
is in meter/metre. Variations in the meter are prefixes such as
kilometer and millimeter. The word has Greek roots, its origin
being metron, which means "a measure".
The meter follows a timeline dating back to the eighteenth
century, when two approaches to the definition of the standard
unit of length were broached.
The first approach defined the meter as the length of a pendulum
with a half-period of one second. The other approach suggested
that the meter was one-fourth the polar circumference of the
earth.
On May 8, 1790, the French National Assembly approved of the
first approach: its length would be equal to the length of a
pendulum with a half-period of one second.
Barely a year later, in March 30, 1791, has this same assembly
accepted the new proposal of the French Academy of Sciences
which adhered to the second approach: that the new definition of
the meter would be equal to one-fourth the polar circumference
of the world.
It must be noted that the circumference of the Earth, if
measured through the poles, is about forty million meters.
In December 10, 1799, the French National Assembly then
specified that the final standards would be according to
the
platinum meter bar constructed on June 23rd 1799 and currently
deposited in the National Archives.
In the 1870's a series of international conferences were held to
devise new metric standards. It was the Meter Convention of 1875
that mandated the establishment of an enduring International
Bureau of Weights and Measures (or BIPM, for Bureau
International des Poids et Mesures) to be based in France.
It was this organization that was tasked to uphold the new
prototype kilogram and meter when it would be constructed. It
would also retain comparisons between the distributed metric
prototypes and the non-metric measurement standards.
Almost a decade later, in September 28, 1889 the CGPM defined
the length as the exact distance between two lines on a standard
bar of an alloy of platinum with ten percent iridium. This
distance was to be measured at the melting point of ice.
This definition would be adjusted over the years. It was in 1893
when Albert A. Michelson, the inventor of the interferometer,
measured the standard meter using his device. It won't be until
1925 when interferometry would be in regular use at the BIPM.
On October 21st, 1983 the seventeenth CGPM definition of a meter
equaled the length traveled by light in vacuum during 1/299,
2972, 458 of a second.
Scientists agree that if a definition is based on the physical
properties of light, then it is infinitely more precise and
reproducible. This is because the properties associated with
light are considered to be universally constant.
About the author:
James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor of MeterIndex.com and writes
expert articles about meters.
|
|
|
|
|
| Science/AAAS | Scientific research, news and career information |
| International weekly science journal, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). |
| www.sciencemag.org |
|
| Science/AAAS | Table of Contents: 1 December 2006; 314 (5804) |
| This Week in Science: Editor summaries of this week's papers. Science 1 December 2006: 1349. ... 2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science. ... |
| www.sciencemag.org |
|
| Science.gov : FirstGov for Science - Government Science Portal |
| Science.gov is a gateway to government science information provided by US Government science agencies, including research and development results. |
| www.science.gov |
|
| ScienceDaily: Your source for the latest research news and science ... |
| ScienceDaily -- the Internet's premier online science magazine and science news web site -- brings you the latest discoveries in science, health & medicine, ... |
| www.sciencedaily.com |
|
| Science News - New York Times |
| Find breaking news, science news & multimedia on biology, space, the environment, health, NASA, weather, drugs, heart disease, cancer, AIDS, mental health ... |
| www.nytimes.com |
|
| Science News Online |
| Weekly magazine offers featured articles from the current issue along with special online-only features. Includes photo collection, archives, ... |
| www.sciencenews.org |
|
| Science in the Yahoo! Directory |
| Explore the fields of astronomy, biology, geology, mathematics, and physics and all of their related disciplines with resources designed for professionals, ... |
| dir.yahoo.com |
|
| Open Directory - Science |
| Agriculture (2454); Anomalies and Alternative Science (525); Astronomy (4208); Biology (20593); Chemistry (4852); Computer Science@ (2358) ... |
| dmoz.org |
|
| BBC - Science & Nature |
| The best of BBC Science and Nature, from TV and radio, to the web and beyond. Take a tour from the smallest atoms, to the largest whales and the most ... |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
|
| Science - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Sciences versus Science: the plural of the term is often used but is difficult to ... Science education is also a very vibrant field of study and research. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Popular Science |
| Monthly magazine about current science and technology. |
| www.popsci.com |
|
| Science/AAAS | ScienceNOW: The Latest News Headlines from the ... |
| AAAS web magazine. Some free sample stories, subscription required for full text. |
| sciencenow.sciencemag.org |
|
| ScienceCareers.org | Science Jobs, Funding, Meetings, and Advice ... |
| Searchable database of jobs, sorted by field specialty. Can post resume and curriculum vitae. Includes tips for improving the workplace for employers and ... |
| sciencecareers.sciencemag.org |
|
| American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Research news, issue papers. Educational programs, science policy (US and international). |
| www.aaas.org |
|
| NASA - Science@NASA |
| News and features about NASA research, aimed at the general public. Includes sections on astronomy, space science, beyond rocketry, living in space, ... |
| science.nasa.gov |
|
| Science NetLinks: Resources for Teaching Science |
| Resources for K-12 science educators. |
| www.sciencenetlinks.com |
|
| Cool Science for Curious Kids |
| Fun and interactive site to help kids appreciate science. Why are snakes like lizards, and monkeys like moose? Find out here. |
| www.hhmi.org |
|
| Welcome to the Science Museum |
| London museum and library of science. Exhibitions cover all areas of science and technology. Includes online exhibits and a learning area. |
| www.sciencemuseum.org.uk |
|
| New Scientist - International News, Ideas, Innovation |
| Weekly science and technology news magazine, considered by some to be the world's best, with diverse subject matter. Articles from current issue and ... |
| www.newscientist.com |
|
| CNN.com - Science and Space |
| Offers news stories related environmental issues, archeology, astronomy, technology, geology and other science topics. |
| www.cnn.com |
|
|