The Decimal System of Weights and Measures

1866 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 364-364
Author(s):  
Samuel Brown

The recommendations were—“That a work should be published, in which should be given the history, and an analytical and comparative table, of the different systems of weights, measures, and coins of the different nations of the earth, to be translated and published, under the supervision of the branch societies, in all the languages of the nations represented in the Association. 2. That, to ensure the accuracy of such a work, the branch societies should furnish information as to the monies, weights, and measures prevalent in each country, with their values in terms of the Metrical System. 3. That each branch society should use every means, especially by aid of the press, to enlighten public opinion on the subject, and to prepare for the meeting of an official International Congress for discussion thereon. 4. That, in the meantime, the branch societies should make every effort to procure that, in all statistical tables and documents, public and private, the different quantities and values should be accompanied by their reduction into the monies, weights, and measures of the Metrical System, so that all nations may have a common medium of comparison. And 5. That unity in the fineness of the coin, unity in the standard of value, and unity in weights and measures of all kinds, should be pursued, in order to facilitate the adoption of a uniform system.”


Author(s):  
Elenice De Souza Lodron Zuin

ResumoEste artigo intenta mostrar que, no século XIX, a apropriação do sistema métrico decimal pelos professores poderia ocorrer, via livros didáticos de Aritmética, antes da oficialização dos novos pesos e medidas no Brasil em 26 de junho de 1862. Entre os autores, José Joaquim D’Avila comparece como um dos defensores da adoção do sistema métrico decimal em nosso país, evidenciando sua posição em um de seus livros publicado em 1856. O autor destaca as vantagens e facilidades do sistema francês em uma conjugação de esforços para agregar outros adeptos e defensores dos pesos e medidas decimais. Deste modo, ele teria também um papel claramente político.AbstractThis paper intends to show that, in the 19th century, the appropriation of the decimal metric system by the teachers could happen through arithmetical textbooks before the official recognition of the new weights and measures in Brazil on June 26, 1862. José Joaquim D’Avila attends as one of the defenders of the adoption of the decimal metric system in our country, evidencing his position in one of his books published in 1856. The author highlights the advantages and means of the French system, in a conjugation of efforts to join other followers and defenders of the Decimal System of Weights and Measures. Thus, he would also have clearly a political role.


Author(s):  
Leoni Levi

Public attention has for some time past been earnestly directed to the introduction of the decimal system in our weights, measures, and coins. The nation is generally convinced, that the adoption of such a system would prove of immense benefit—that it would afford great facilities for calculations of all kinds, that it would shorten the work of education, that it would economise labour, and that it would diminish the chances of error. The Society of Arts, and other scientific societies, have investigated the subject in all its phases and bearings, and we have been expecting the speedy adoption of some practical plan which would be certain to confer so great a boon. Unfortunately, the Russian war, the Indian mutiny, and other political events, have rendered it necessary to put aside the consideration of many social reforms, and this, among the rest, shared the same fate. We have bestowed, also, far too much attention to the pound and mil scheme, as if upon it rested the entire question of decimalisation, and thus years have passed without a single step of a definite character being taken.


1966 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 10-14
Author(s):  
Frank W. Archer

Practically all the nations of the world use the metric system of weights and measures. Yet the United States continues to offer goods, produced according to nonmetric standards, in the world markets in competition with metric products from other countries. The marketing aspects of the metric problem are now more important than ever: efforts to increase export trade; Britain's decision to move to the metric system; and widespread utilization of electronic data processing equipment, which uses the decimal system in calculations.


2020 ◽  
pp. 26-32
Author(s):  
M. I. Kalinin ◽  
L. K. Isaev ◽  
F. V. Bulygin

The situation that has developed in the International System of Units (SI) as a result of adopting the recommendation of the International Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM) in 1980, which proposed to consider plane and solid angles as dimensionless derived quantities, is analyzed. It is shown that the basis for such a solution was a misunderstanding of the mathematical formula relating the arc length of a circle with its radius and corresponding central angle, as well as of the expansions of trigonometric functions in series. From the analysis presented in the article, it follows that a plane angle does not depend on any of the SI quantities and should be assigned to the base quantities, and its unit, the radian, should be added to the base SI units. A solid angle, in this case, turns out to be a derived quantity of a plane angle. Its unit, the steradian, is a coherent derived unit equal to the square radian.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (9) ◽  
pp. 28-30
Author(s):  
D. M. Zlatopolski

The article describes a number of little-known methods for translating natural numbers from one number system to another. The first is a method for converting large numbers from the decimal system to the binary system, based on multiple divisions of a given number and all intermediate quotients by 64 (or another number equal to 2n ), followed by writing the last quotient and the resulting remainders in binary form. Then two methods of mutual translation of decimal and binary numbers are described, based on the so-called «Horner scheme». An optimal variant of converting numbers into the binary number system by the method of division by 2 is also given. In conclusion, a fragment of a manuscript from the beginning of the late 16th — early 17th centuries is published with translation into the binary system by the method of highlighting the maximum degree of number 2. Assignments for independent work of students are offered.


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