I am in Ireland now; when I am back home I will look into it. It is very interesting. The ideas for such a system really came from different European countries and Britain was indeed important in this regard.
> Datum: 16/07/07 13:12 > Van: "Pat Naughtin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Aan: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > CC: > Onderwerp : [USMA:39083] Origin of the metric system > > Dear All, > > Thank you for your comments about the English invention of the metric system > in 1668 (See: > http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/Wilkins_translation_2007-07-14.pdf ). > I will consider them all as I travel. > > Some people have had a problem downloading this document because of its > size. If you go to http://www.metricationmatters.com/articles.html you will > have a choice of downloading the full document that includes copies of the > original documents or choosing a shorter version that (although still > biggish) is about one third the size of the original. > > You might like to comment on this summary: > > What exactly did John Wilkins invent in 1668? > > John Wilkins system: > * was decimal > * was international > * had a standard length (of about 997 millimetres) > * used measures based on a 'Natural Standard' that could be reproduced in > any nation of the world. > * was intended to be related to time so that the measures of length, area, > volume, mass (he called it weight and based it on rain water), and time > could be all interrelated within one system. > * was based on a 'Universal Measure' (that became known as the metric system > after 'universal measure' was translated into the Italian, 'metro catholico' > by Burattini, seven years later, in 1675). > * was universal in that it was intended for all human activities. > > John Wilkins' description of a new measuring system in 1668 had at least > these properties that are components of the modern metric system that is > more formally known as 'The International System of Units (SI)'. > > Cheers, > > Pat Naughtin > PO Box 305, Belmont, 3216 > Geelong, Australia > Phone 61 3 5241 2008 > > Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online monthly newsletter, > 'Metrication matters'. > Subscribe at http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter > > Pat is recognised as a Lifetime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist > (LCAMS) with the United States Metric Association. He is also editor of the > 'Numbers and measurement' section of the Australian Government Publishing > Service 'Style manual for writers, editors and printers'. He is a Member > of the National Speakers Association of Australia and the International > Federation for Professional Speakers. See: http://www.metricationmatters.com > > This email and its attachments are for the sole use of the addressee and may > contain information that is confidential and/or legally privileged. This > email and its attachments are subject to copyright and should not be partly > or wholly reproduced without the consent of the copyright owner. Any > unauthorised use of disclosure of this email or its attachments is > prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please immediately delete it > from your system and notify the sender by return email. > >
