The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World
Type
Book
Authors
ISBN 10
0743216768
ISBN 13
9780743216760
Category
Unknown
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Publication Year
2003
Publisher
Pages
448
Description
From the librarian:
The Measure of All Things describes the development of the metric system, which began, most crucially, with the development of the metre. Ancien regime France was filled with over a 1000 different, and localized, "standards" for weights and measures and the development of the metric system was one of the revolutionary goals of the French Revolution. It was decided that the metric system should be "for all people, for all time" and, therefore, should be based off of a universal standard, the size of the earth itself.
It was, arbitrarily, decided that one metre would be 1/10,000,000 of the length of the meridian running from the North Pole to the Equator, through Paris. This would require an epic survey mission that would change the world, as the entire world's measurements are now based off of the meter (one foot is internationally defined as 0.3048 meter). This survey literally took place across France during the heights of the French Revolution and the book tells the tale of two scientists pursuing the most precise measurement of the earth ever attempted during a time of a great political and civil turmoil and conflict. However, in the attempt to make the most precise measurement of the earth, a hidden error was discovered that has been a part of the meter ever since, even in our most current definitions based upon the speed of light.
This book is an incredibly, and perhaps surprisingly, enlightening read not just on the origin of the meter, but of the costs of pursuing science during a revolution, an inside look upon many scientists commonly encountered in engineering education (e.g. Legendre, Lavoissier, and Laplace), the profound effect that measurement has had upon the collective human psyche, and what it means to have, and perhaps a description of the boundaries of, scientific integrity.
From the cover:
In June 1792, amidst the chaos of the French Revolution, two intrepid astronomers set out in opposite directions on an extraordinary journey. Starting in Paris, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre would make his way north to Dunkirk, while Pierre-François-André Méchain voyaged south to Barcelona. Their mission was to measure the world, and their findings would help define the meter as one ten-millionth of the distance between the pole and the equator—a standard that would be used “for all people, for all time.” The Measure of All Things is the astonishing tale of one of history’s greatest scientific adventures. Yet behind the public triumph of the metric system lies a secret error, one that is perpetuated in every subsequent definition of the meter. As acclaimed historian and novelist Ken Alder discovered through his research, there were only two people on the planet who knew the full extent of this error: Delambre and Méchain themselves. By turns a science history, detective tale, and human drama, The Measure of All Things describes a quest that succeeded as it failed—and continues to enlighten and inspire to this day.
The Measure of All Things describes the development of the metric system, which began, most crucially, with the development of the metre. Ancien regime France was filled with over a 1000 different, and localized, "standards" for weights and measures and the development of the metric system was one of the revolutionary goals of the French Revolution. It was decided that the metric system should be "for all people, for all time" and, therefore, should be based off of a universal standard, the size of the earth itself.
It was, arbitrarily, decided that one metre would be 1/10,000,000 of the length of the meridian running from the North Pole to the Equator, through Paris. This would require an epic survey mission that would change the world, as the entire world's measurements are now based off of the meter (one foot is internationally defined as 0.3048 meter). This survey literally took place across France during the heights of the French Revolution and the book tells the tale of two scientists pursuing the most precise measurement of the earth ever attempted during a time of a great political and civil turmoil and conflict. However, in the attempt to make the most precise measurement of the earth, a hidden error was discovered that has been a part of the meter ever since, even in our most current definitions based upon the speed of light.
This book is an incredibly, and perhaps surprisingly, enlightening read not just on the origin of the meter, but of the costs of pursuing science during a revolution, an inside look upon many scientists commonly encountered in engineering education (e.g. Legendre, Lavoissier, and Laplace), the profound effect that measurement has had upon the collective human psyche, and what it means to have, and perhaps a description of the boundaries of, scientific integrity.
From the cover:
In June 1792, amidst the chaos of the French Revolution, two intrepid astronomers set out in opposite directions on an extraordinary journey. Starting in Paris, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre would make his way north to Dunkirk, while Pierre-François-André Méchain voyaged south to Barcelona. Their mission was to measure the world, and their findings would help define the meter as one ten-millionth of the distance between the pole and the equator—a standard that would be used “for all people, for all time.” The Measure of All Things is the astonishing tale of one of history’s greatest scientific adventures. Yet behind the public triumph of the metric system lies a secret error, one that is perpetuated in every subsequent definition of the meter. As acclaimed historian and novelist Ken Alder discovered through his research, there were only two people on the planet who knew the full extent of this error: Delambre and Méchain themselves. By turns a science history, detective tale, and human drama, The Measure of All Things describes a quest that succeeded as it failed—and continues to enlighten and inspire to this day.
Number of Copies
1
