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    • 2013 Publication

WHAT SCIENTIFIC TERM OR CONCEPT OUGHT TO BE MORE WIDELY KNOWN AND APPRECIATED? - THE IMPORTANCE OF MEASUREMENTS

Editor’s Note: In this piece, Hannah Goncher (‘19) explains the origin and importance of measurements and scientific units in the scientific, and greater, world.
Every day billions of people use units; they are important tools that often get overlooked despite being a vital part of our scientific work. We take for granted the ease provided by units, as they are woven into our daily lives and we don't have to think twice about them. Standardized units are a common language, which we can use to recreate experiments, communicate, manufacture, and engineer, among many other things. The development of the first universal measurement began in the 1700s during the French Revolution. With over 250,000 measures in use, there was need for a common measurement in the trading world. Without a common tool of measurement many problems occurred for example, there was no way to accurately assign value to products or ensure buyers how much they were getting. Standardized measurements were needed in society for people to be able to keep up with advancements. The goal was to make a universal measurement, so that relationships could be easily established by using one tool.
When the French began developing their system they knew they wanted it to stand the test of time. The system was created using the most universal thing they could think of; the earth itself. They sent Pierre Méchain, a French astronomer and surveyor, to measure a fraction of the meridian between France and Spain. This was done in hopes of extracting a precise measurement: one ten-millionth of the length between the Equator and the North Pole, to use as the meter. Although this measurement did end up being inaccurate, it served the intended purpose and still lasts to this day.
Measurements are useful because they allow us to draw conclusions and establish relationships between objects, and in turn they make observations more specific. We are also able to identify properties and characteristics of substances, as well as the specific tool used to make that measurement. The ability to give a numerical value to something is helpful when trying to replicate experiments or products, and leaves a platform to be able to make inferences from those numbers. Historian Ken Alder writes about the metric system’s impact on our world “They’re agreements that we strike as an individual culture, as a global society. And the metric system is an incredibly successful global agreement of what measurement can and should be. It has, in a sense, made it possible to communicate over the whole world” (The measure of all things). This demonstrates the profound way measurement affects our lives; it unifies and connects us on a global scale.
Works Cited
[Audio blog interview]. (2014, June 13). Retrieved March 30, 2017, from http://www.radiolab.org/story/kg/.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Pierre Mechain. Retrieved March 30, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/
Pierre-Mechain Nasser, L. (2014, June 9). The Meter: The Measure of a Man. Retrieved March 30, 2017, from http://www.radiolab.org/story/meter-measure-man/.
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  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • HOW TO SUBMIT
  • Past Publications
    • 2019 Publication >
      • Scientific Research
      • Mathematical Exploration
      • Scientific Exploration
      • Computer Science
    • 2018 Publication >
      • Artistic Creations
      • Historical and Current Explanations
      • Mathematic and Scientific Exploration
      • Scientific Research
    • 2017 Publication >
      • Artistic Creations
      • Historical and Current Explanations
      • Mathematic and Scientific Exploration
      • Reactions and Responses
      • Scientific Research
    • 2016 Publication >
      • Historical and Current Explanations
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations
      • Scientific Research
      • Reactions and Responses
      • Artistic Creations
    • 2015 Publication >
      • Historical and Current Explanations >
        • Bell Curves
        • Birds Vs. Turbines
        • Energy in the Obama Era
        • The Future of Neuroscience
        • Gender Gap in Math
        • GMOs--Yes or No?
        • The History of Minecraft: How a Swedish Indie Game Came to Dominate the World
        • The Effect of Prozac on the Brain
        • Philae Lander's Discovery of Organic Molecules
        • Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Turbines
        • Your Own Worst Enemy: An Overview of Lupus
        • The Methylhex Ban
        • The Effect of Lyme Disease on the Immune system
        • Infectious Mononucleosis
        • Replacing CFCs
        • The Switch
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations >
        • The 43rd Figure
        • The Clock
        • The Collatz Conjecture
        • Constructing a Soccer Ball
        • Determining how Ballparks Affect Batter's Ability to Create Hits
        • The Rotating Conundrum
        • Pythagorean Puzzle
        • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations
        • Kinetics Lab
        • Math in the Restaurant Business
        • Math as a Vessel for Social Change
        • Sustainability of Bottled Vs. Tap Water
        • Thoughts on the Lottery
        • Understanding Player Efficiency Rating
      • Scientific Research >
        • Communicating With Computers
        • The Mystery of Asthma
        • The Nanoscopic War Against Cancer
        • Phytochemistry
        • Solving the energy crisis with Intermediate Band Solar Cells
        • A Pain That Never Ends
        • Rapamycin Resistance
        • Ampacity of a Single Core Horizontal Cable
        • Morphological Properties of Texting Acronym Formation
        • cGAS and STING Expression
      • Reactions and Responses >
        • Can Humans Survive the Climate Crisis?
        • My Experience as a Teacher's Assistant
        • Ted Talk Responses
        • Teens For Food Justice
      • Artistic Creations >
        • Chandelier
        • Deltoidal Hexacontrahedon
        • Dodecahedron Card Trick
        • Eye of the Triangle
        • Free Radric Delantic Davis
        • The Grid
        • What Does A Randomly Composed Song Sound Like?
        • Science Wing Mural
    • 2014 Publication >
      • Cover Photo
      • Artistic Creations >
        • Art Using the Fibonacci Sequence
        • Computer Generated Architecture and Designs
        • Mathematical Landscape
        • Math Art
        • Math in Music
      • Historical and Current Explanations >
        • Algae Bio-Fuel
        • An Energy Alternative
        • Clean Energy In Transportation
        • Calorie Restriction
        • Creating Energy in the Modern World
        • Dietary Intervention Impact on Gut Microbial Gene Richness
        • Earthly Applications for NASA Technology
        • Explaining Relative Motion
        • Exploring Artificial Inteligence
        • Gamma Function
        • How Leaves Work
        • Hydrogen Fuel Cells
        • Music and Brain Development
        • Programming Calculators
        • The Science of Microsatellites
        • Sci-Fi Taser
        • Sloane's Gap
        • Sustainable Energy: Why Some Ideas Shine Brighter than Others
        • Understanding The Galvanic Cell
        • The Virus: Our Unforeseen Philosopher's Stone
        • What Are Fuel Cells and How Do They Work?
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations >
        • Astrocytes Expressing ALS-Linked Mutated SOD1 Release Factors Selectively Toxic to Motor Neurons
        • Big Bang
        • Dictyostelium Discoideum
        • The Future of Solar Cell Technology
        • And Many More...
      • Reactions and Responses >
        • Alternative Energy Sources, New but Unused
        • An Insight Into the Curious World of Ethnobotany
        • Challenging What We Think We Know
        • The Current State of American Education
        • Discovering New Numbers
        • Interview With an Architect
        • Life of Pi Response
        • Mathematical Art Video Commentary
        • Missing from Science Class
        • The Museum of Math
        • The Inside Scoop on a Real Mathematician
    • 2013 Publication