[time-nuts] Measurements

[Bruce Griffiths]

Ulrich

Looks like some kind of transit circle.

Bruce

Ulrich Bangert wrote:
> Steve,
>
>   
>> .....They HAD to adopt common measurement system 
>> of some kind, and they sure weren't going to use anything that the 
>> English did!
>>     
>
> So it was! However, the idea to make something completely new and not to
> follow something existing did not result from political reasoning or from
> what countries they had a friendship with or not.
>
> The basic idea behind creating something new was: The new measures should
> make sense to EVERYBODY who was forced by law to make use of them and should
> therefore make it easy for everybody to adopt them. This reasoning is well
> backed up by other ideas falling into the time of the French revolution.  
>
> For example: Since we all share mother earth it was decided that the meter
> should have a definition that is based on the size of earth. So the original
> definition of a meter was to be 1/40000 of or earth's circumference. This
> lead to a minor problem: Earth's circumference was not well known at that
> times. Which in turn lead to the invention of a new class of surveyor
> instruments, which in turn enabled the French to measure the distance from
> the equator to the north pole (assumed to be 1/4 of the circumference) with
> a precision that must be admired even from a today point of view. I do not
> know the english term for it but in German these instruments are called
> "Repetitionskreis". You can find a pictue of one here:
>
> http://www.bistumsmuseen-regensburg.de/html/ausstellungen_moenche_repetition
> skreis.htm
>
> A very good literature about this topic is Ken Alders "The measure of all
> Things"
>
> Best regards
> Ulrich Bangert
>
>    
>
>   
>> -----Ursprungliche Nachricht-----
>> Von: time-nuts-bounces at febo.com 
>> [mailto:time-nuts-bounces at febo.com] Im Auftrag von steve gunsel
>> Gesendet: Freitag, 21. August 2009 13:56
>> An: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
>> Betreff: Re: [time-nuts] Measurements
>>
>>
>> At least an acre is acre throughout the US (I think).  The real 
>> problem was in olden France where virtually all measurements varied 
>> from village to village. So a bushel of wheat in one locality 
>> differed from a bushel elsewhere. Same with all of the other units. 
>> Made for nasty trade issues once they expanded beyond dealing with 
>> the immediate neighbors. They HAD to adopt common measurement system 
>> of some kind, and they sure weren't going to use anything that the 
>> English did!  
>>
>>