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The
metre American English
meterSee American and British English spelling differences(symbol:
m) is the
SI base unit of
length in the
International System of Units (SI). The metre was originally defined by a prototype object meant to represent the distance between the Geographical poles and the Equator. Today, it is defined as of a Speed of light.
Because it is the
base unit of length in the SI, all SI units which involve length (such as
area or speed) are defined relative to the metre. Additionally, due to the metre being the only SI base unit used to measure a vector (e.g. displacement), all vector units are defined relative to the metre. However, decimal multiples and submultiples of the metre— such as
kilometre (1000 metres) and centimetre (0.01 metres)— can be formed by adding
SI prefixes to
metre (see #SI prefixed forms of metre below).
Etymology
The word
wikt:metre is from the Greek
metron (), "a wikt:measure" via the French
mètre. Its first recorded usage in English meaning this unit of length is from 1797.
History
Meridional definition
In the eighteenth century, there were two favoured approaches to the definition of the standard unit of length. One suggested defining the metre as the length of a
pendulum with a half-period (physics) of one second. The other suggested defining the metre as one ten-millionth of the length of the Earth's
meridian (geography) along a quadrant, that is the distance from the equator to the north pole. In 1791, the
French Academy of Sciences selected the meridional definition.
In order to establish a universally accepted foundation for the definition of the metre, measurements of this meridian more accurate than those available at that time were imperative. The Bureau des Longitudes commissioned an expedition led by Delambre and Pierre Méchain, lasting from 1792 to 1799, which measured the length of the
meridian (geography) between
Dunkerque and Barcelona. This portion of the meridian, which also passes through
Paris, was to serve as the basis for the length of the half meridian, connecting the
North Pole with the
Equator.
However, in 1793, France adopted the metre based on provisional results from the expedition as its official unit of length. Although it was later determined that the first prototype metre bar was short by a fifth of a millimetre due to miscalculation of the flattening of the Earth, this length became the standard. So, the circumference of the Earth through the poles is approximately forty million metres.
Prototype metre bar
In the 1870s and in light of modern precision, a series of international conferences were held to devise new metric standards. The Metre Convention (Convention du Mètre) of 1875 mandated the establishment of a permanent
International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM: Bureau International des Poids et Mesures) to be located in Sèvres, France. This new organisation would preserve the new prototype metre and kilogram when constructed, distribute national metric prototypes, and maintain comparisons between them and non-metric measurement standards. This organization created a new prototype bar in 1889 at the first
General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM: Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures), establishing the
International Prototype Metre as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of ninety percent
platinum and ten percent iridium, measured at 0 degrees Celsius
Standard wavelength of krypton-86 emission
In 1893, the standard metre was first measured with an
interferometer by
Albert Abraham Michelson, the inventor of the device and an advocate of using some particular
wavelength of light as a standard of distance. By 1925,
interferometry was in regular use at the BIPM. However, the International Prototype Metre remained the standard until 1960, when the eleventh
General Conference on Weights and Measures defined the metre in the new SI system as equal to 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the
orange (colour)-red
emission line in the electromagnetic spectrum of the krypton-86
atom in a vacuum. The original international prototype of the metre is still kept at the BIPM under the conditions specified in 1889.
Standard wavelength of helium-neon laser light
To further reduce uncertainty, the seventeenth CGPM in 1983 replaced the definition of the metre with its current definition, thus fixing the length of the metre in terms of time and the
speed of light:
The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second. Resolution 1 of the seventeenth CGPM (1983): Definition of the metre
Note that this definition had the effect of fixing the speed of light in a vacuum at precisely 299 792 458 metres per second. Although the metre is now
defined in terms of time-of-flight, actual laboratory realisations of the metre are still
delineated by counting the required number of wavelengths of light along the distance. An intended byproduct of the 17th CGPM’s definition was that it enabled scientists to measure the wavelength of their lasers with one-fifth the uncertainty. To further facilitate reproducibility from lab to lab, the 17th CGPM also made the iodine-stabilised helium-neon laser "a recommended radiation" for realising the metre. Today's best determination of the wavelength of the relevant transition in 127I2 used for this purpose is λ = 632 991 212.58 fm with an estimated relative standard uncertainty
(U) of 2.1 × 10-11. This uncertainty is currently the limiting factor in laboratory realisations of the metre as it is several orders of magnitude poorer than that of the second (
U = 5 × 10-16) NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock. Consequently, a practical realisation of the metre is usually delineated (not defined) today in labs as 1 579 800.762 042(33) wavelengths of helium-neon laser light in a vacuum.
Timeline of definition
- 1790May 8 — The National Assembly (French Revolution) decides that the length of the new metre would be equal to the length of a pendulum with a half-period (physics) of one second.
- 1791March 30 — The French National Assembly accepts the proposal by the French Academy of Sciences that the new definition for the metre be equal to one ten-millionth of the length of the Earth's meridian (geography) along a quadrant through Paris, that is the distance from the equator to the north pole.
- 1795 — Provisional metre bar constructed of brass.
- 1799December 10 — The French National Assembly specifies the platinum metre bar, constructed on 23 June 1799 and deposited in the National Archives of France, as the final standard.
- 1927October 6 — The seventh CGPM adjusts the definition of the length to be the distance, at 0 °Celsius, between the axes of the two central lines marked on the prototype bar of platinum-iridium, this bar being subject to one standard atmospheric pressure and supported on two cylinders of at least one centimetre diameter, symmetrically placed in the same horizontal plane at a distance of 571 millimetres from each other.
- 1960October 20 — The eleventh CGPM defines the length to be equal to 1,650,763.73 wavelengths in vacuum of the electromagnetic radiation corresponding to the transition between the 2p10 and 5d5 quantum levels of the krypton-86 atom.
- 1983October 21 — The seventeenth CGPM defines the length as equal to the distance travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.
SI prefixed forms of metre
SI prefixes are often employed to denote decimal multiples and submultiples of the metre, as shown in the table below.{{SI multiples].|n=|mc=|m=|c=|k=|xd=decimetre|xmc=[micrometre (micron)]|xn=[nanometre|xda=[decametre|xk=[kilometre-->
Equivalents in other units
{||-style="font-size:125%;padding-left:0px;"!colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"|Metric unit
expressed in non-SI unit !colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"|Non-SI unit
expressed in metric unit|-|1 metre ||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|10−4 ||Norwegian/Swedish mil|||1 Norwegian/Swedish mil||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|104 ||metres|||-|1 metre ||≈ ||style="text-align:right;"|39.37 ||
inches]||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|0.0254 ||metres|||-|1 centimetre ||≈ ||style="text-align:right;"|0.3937 ||inch|| |1 inch||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|2.54 ||centimetres|| |-|1 millimetre ]||[Ångström|| |-|1 nanometre ||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|10||Ångström|| |1 Ångström||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|100 ||picometres|| |}
See also
Notes
References
- Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. The BIPM and the evolution of the definition of the metre. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- Resolutions of the CGPM. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- Penzes, William B. at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Precision Engineering Division (2005 December 29). Time Line for the Definition of the Meter. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (October 2000). The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty: International System of Units (SI):
- SI base units. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- Definitions of the SI base units. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- Historical context of the SI: meter. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
External links
- Official BIPM definition of the metre
- Length—Evolution from Measurement Standard to a Fundamental Constant at U.S. NIST
- The History of the Meter By Tibo Qorl (Translated by Sibille Rouzaud)
The
metre American English meterSee
American and British English spelling differences(symbol:
m) is the SI base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). The metre was originally defined by a prototype object meant to represent the distance between the
Geographical poles and the Equator. Today, it is defined as of a Speed of light.
Because it is the
base unit of length in the SI, all SI units which involve length (such as area or speed) are defined relative to the metre. Additionally, due to the metre being the only SI base unit used to measure a vector (e.g. displacement), all vector units are defined relative to the metre. However, decimal multiples and submultiples of the metre— such as
kilometre (1000 metres) and
centimetre (0.01 metres)— can be formed by adding SI prefixes to
metre (see #SI prefixed forms of metre below).
Etymology
The word
wikt:metre is from the Greek
metron (), "a wikt:measure" via the French
mètre. Its first recorded usage in English meaning this unit of length is from 1797.
History
Meridional definition
In the eighteenth century, there were two favoured approaches to the definition of the standard unit of length. One suggested defining the metre as the length of a pendulum with a half-period (physics) of one second. The other suggested defining the metre as one ten-millionth of the length of the Earth's
meridian (geography) along a quadrant, that is the distance from the equator to the north pole. In 1791, the
French Academy of Sciences selected the meridional definition.
In order to establish a universally accepted foundation for the definition of the metre, measurements of this meridian more accurate than those available at that time were imperative. The
Bureau des Longitudes commissioned an expedition led by
Delambre and
Pierre Méchain, lasting from 1792 to 1799, which measured the length of the
meridian (geography) between
Dunkerque and
Barcelona. This portion of the meridian, which also passes through Paris, was to serve as the basis for the length of the half meridian, connecting the
North Pole with the
Equator.
However, in 1793, France adopted the metre based on provisional results from the expedition as its official unit of length. Although it was later determined that the first prototype metre bar was short by a fifth of a millimetre due to miscalculation of the flattening of the Earth, this length became the standard. So, the circumference of the Earth through the poles is approximately forty million metres.
Prototype metre bar
In the 1870s and in light of modern precision, a series of international conferences were held to devise new metric standards. The Metre Convention (Convention du Mètre) of 1875 mandated the establishment of a permanent International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM: Bureau International des Poids et Mesures) to be located in
Sèvres, France. This new organisation would preserve the new prototype metre and
kilogram when constructed, distribute national metric prototypes, and maintain comparisons between them and non-metric measurement standards. This organization created a new prototype bar in 1889 at the first
General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM: Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures), establishing the
International Prototype Metre as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of ninety percent platinum and ten percent
iridium, measured at 0 degrees Celsius
Standard wavelength of krypton-86 emission
In 1893, the standard metre was first measured with an
interferometer by
Albert Abraham Michelson, the inventor of the device and an advocate of using some particular wavelength of
light as a standard of distance. By 1925, interferometry was in regular use at the BIPM. However, the International Prototype Metre remained the standard until 1960, when the eleventh
General Conference on Weights and Measures defined the metre in the new SI system as equal to 1,650,763.73
wavelengths of the
orange (colour)-red
emission line in the
electromagnetic spectrum of the krypton-86 atom in a
vacuum. The original international prototype of the metre is still kept at the BIPM under the conditions specified in 1889.
Standard wavelength of helium-neon laser light
To further reduce uncertainty, the seventeenth CGPM in 1983 replaced the definition of the metre with its current definition, thus fixing the length of the metre in terms of
time and the speed of light:
The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second. Resolution 1 of the seventeenth CGPM (1983): Definition of the metre
Note that this definition had the effect of fixing the speed of light in a vacuum at precisely 299 792 458 metres per second. Although the metre is now
defined in terms of time-of-flight, actual laboratory realisations of the metre are still
delineated by counting the required number of wavelengths of light along the distance. An intended byproduct of the 17th CGPM’s definition was that it enabled scientists to measure the wavelength of their lasers with one-fifth the uncertainty. To further facilitate reproducibility from lab to lab, the 17th CGPM also made the iodine-stabilised helium-neon laser "a recommended radiation" for realising the metre. Today's best determination of the wavelength of the relevant transition in 127I2 used for this purpose is λ = 632 991 212.58 fm with an estimated relative standard uncertainty
(U) of 2.1 × 10-11. This uncertainty is currently the limiting factor in laboratory realisations of the metre as it is several orders of magnitude poorer than that of the second (
U = 5 × 10-16) NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock. Consequently, a practical realisation of the metre is usually delineated (not defined) today in labs as 1 579 800.762 042(33) wavelengths of helium-neon laser light in a vacuum.
Timeline of definition
- 1791March 30 — The French National Assembly accepts the proposal by the French Academy of Sciences that the new definition for the metre be equal to one ten-millionth of the length of the Earth's meridian (geography) along a quadrant through Paris, that is the distance from the equator to the north pole.
- 1795 — Provisional metre bar constructed of brass.
- 1889September 28 — The first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of platinum with ten percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice.
- 1927October 6 — The seventh CGPM adjusts the definition of the length to be the distance, at 0 °Celsius, between the axes of the two central lines marked on the prototype bar of platinum-iridium, this bar being subject to one standard atmospheric pressure and supported on two cylinders of at least one centimetre diameter, symmetrically placed in the same horizontal plane at a distance of 571 millimetres from each other.
- 1983October 21 — The seventeenth CGPM defines the length as equal to the distance travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.
SI prefixed forms of metre
SI prefixes are often employed to denote decimal multiples and submultiples of the metre, as shown in the table below.{{SI multiples].|n=|mc=|m=|c=|k=|xd=decimetre|xmc=[micrometre (micron)]|xn=[nanometre|xda=[decametre|xk=[kilometre-->
Equivalents in other units
{||-style="font-size:125%;padding-left:0px;"!colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"|Metric unit
expressed in non-SI unit !colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"|Non-SI unit
expressed in metric unit|-|1 metre ||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|10−4 ||Norwegian/Swedish mil|||1
Norwegian/Swedish mil||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|104 ||metres|||-|1 metre ||≈ ||style="text-align:right;"|39.37 ||
inches]||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|0.0254 ||metres|||-|1 centimetre ||≈ ||style="text-align:right;"|0.3937 ||inch|| |1 inch||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|2.54 ||centimetres|| |-|1
millimetre ]||[Ångström|| |-|1 nanometre ||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|10||Ångström|| |1 Ångström||≡ ||style="text-align:right;"|100 ||picometres|| |}
See also
- SI (International System of Units)
- Convention du Mètre
- SI prefix
- Conversion of units for comparisons with other units
- Orders of magnitude (length)
- Speed of light
- Metrication
Notes
References
- Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. The BIPM and the evolution of the definition of the metre. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- Resolutions of the CGPM. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- Penzes, William B. at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Precision Engineering Division (2005 December 29). Time Line for the Definition of the Meter. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (October 2000). The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty: International System of Units (SI):
- SI base units. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- Definitions of the SI base units. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
- Historical context of the SI: meter. URL accessed on 2006 June 3.
External links
- Official BIPM definition of the metre
- Length—Evolution from Measurement Standard to a Fundamental Constant at U.S. NIST
- The History of the Meter By Tibo Qorl (Translated by Sibille Rouzaud)
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Association of Meter Operators
Aims The Association of Meter Operators is the trade association representing it members. The Consultant is employed to assist with achieving the aims.
