Han, AJ Wallard sirs:
While my post is NOT intended to initiate further dicussion of
'histriography' of *kilo- for metre and/or litre*, I have revoked the need
for PUTTING MILES OVER THE SHELF in favour of 'kilometre'. My contribution,
during proceedings of 3rd International Conference (MMGT 2001) refers.
Shelving Mile in Favour of Nautical Kilometre; Proceedings of 3rd
International Conference on Metrology In New Millennium And Global Trade
(MMGT - 2001); Document # 27; pp.169; National Physical Laboratory, New
Delhi; 2001 February 4-8.
Regards,
Brij Bhushan Vij <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
(Kali5106-W31-00)/D-317+1 (Monday)2005 Nov.14H69(decimal) IST
Aa Nau Bhadra Kritvo Yantu Vishwatah -Rg Veda
Jan:31; Feb:29; Mar:31; Apr:30; May:31; Jun:30
Jul:30; Aug:31; Sep:30; Oct:31; Nov:30; Dec:30
(365th day of Year is World Day)
******As per Kali V-GRhymeCalendar******
Telephone: +91-11-25590335
From: "H. Maenen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Subject: [USMA:35203] Re:Re: Is the kilometre British?
Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2005 10:29:57 +0100 (CET)
I would have to search for that. I still do not believe that the British
have had anything to do with the emergence of the kilometre. One would have
to read French literature and records from 1795 onwards. Between 1820 and
1840 the only metric nation in the world was The Netherlands - sometimes
called an oasis in the desert-, France had reverted in 1812 under Napoleon
to Paris weights and measures for use in daily life and retail shopping;
metric was used by the authorities. So, there were, apart from The
Netherlands and France in official matters, no countries that used the
kilometre. After France went metric for good in 1840, by the law of 1837
July 4, the other continental European nations and beyond started to follow
suit. In 1874, when the BAAS came into the picture, many European nations
had gone metric already, among them Germany in 1870. To find out what
metric units French officials and the authorities used, one would have to
go the the provincial French Records, which are stored in the Provincial
Archives (Provinciale Rijksarchieven - ieder heeft een Frans Archief) and
the French records in the National Archive (Nationaal Archief) and the
Royal Library (Koninklijke Bibliotheek) at The Hague. Both institutions are
only about 100 m from the central station of The Hague and are neighbours.
If I can find the time I will do some searching, especially what the German
law of 1868 names as units.
> Datum: 12/11/05 06:13
> Van: "Martin Vlietstra"
> Aan: "U.S. Metric Association"
> CC:
> Onderwerp : [USMA:35198] Re: Is the kilometre British?
>
>
While I accept that the prefix Âkilo and the units of measure ÂgrammeÂ
and Âmetre both had their origins in France during the Revolutionary
period and that the French certainly used the "kilogramme", the question
that I am asking is when was the prefix Âkilo first used in conjunction
with the metre? The 1842 reference that I cited in my original post made
no references to any country using the Âkilometre (apart from the Dutch
who called it a ÂmijlÂ).
----- Original Message -----
From: Han Maenen
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2005 14:34
Subject: [USMA:35197] Re: Is the kilometre British?
>
When the metric system was devised between 1793 and 1798, the prefix kilo
was one of the original decimal prefixes, proposed by Jean de Borda. I can
not find any proof of British influences in this matter. The prefix kilo
was already mentioned in the French metric laws of 18 germinal an 3
(1795-04-07). If the Britsh had influenced the coming of the kilometre,
then the same would have been the case with the kilogram.
However:
1. James Watt, the inventor of the steam machine, had contacts with those
who became the inventors of the metric system, just before it started. Watt
was a supporter of a decimal system of units. I do not doubt that
measurement was one of the subjects they discussed.
2. There are indications that the conference in 1798/1799, that established
the metric system om an international basis for the first time, was also
attended privately by US and UK observers.
3. From 1860, British scientists played a crucial role in improving and
expanding the metric system for use in technology, they did this under the
umbrella of the British Assocation for the Advancement of Science. The name
of William Thomson or Lord Kelvin comes to mind among others. They helped
to establish the ground work for what was to become SI. The cgs-system was
British developed, and it was coherent as well. SI was developed on this
idea of coherence.
Conclusion:as far as I know, there is no British influence regarding the
kilometre, but in the further development of the metric system they played
a crucial role. This is something the BWMA and ARM would dearly wish to
airbrush out of history, because it shows the nonsense of their claim: the
metric system is foreign/European trash.
>From 1988 the directors of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures
http://www.bipm.fr/ have been UK-citizens:
J. Quinn FRS, Emeritus Director: 1988-2003
2003 - A.J. Wallard
Han
----- Original Message -----
From: MARTIN VLIETSTRA
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Tuesday, 2005, November 08 20:59
Subject: [USMA:35186] Is the kilometre British?
>
Is the kilometre a British development?
To many, this question is almost as absurd as asking if the Pope is a
Catholic, but if the questiopn is probed, it appears that the use of the
word Âkilometre might actually have been a British-inspired development!
On examining the state of European units of measure in 1842 (see
http://home.fonline.de/fo0126/geschichte/groessen/mas1.htm) (note, this is
in German), it appeared that only two countries used round metric
quantities for distances that were greater than a few hundred metres  the
Netherlands used the term Âmijl for 1000m, while France used the term
Âmiriameter for 10000m.
The official SI handbook (http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/brochure/)
has a short history of the principal events in the development of SI. One
of the principal events that they record was the adoption in 1874 of a
**consistent** set of prefixes which was proposed by the British
Association for the Advancement of Science. This suggests to me that even
though the French might have been using metres and kilogrammes before the
British, it was due to British influence that the kilometre was adopted as
a unit of length.
Any comments anybody?
>
> To find out more about Reuters visit www.about.reuters.com
>
> Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states them to be the views of Reuters
Ltd.
>
