This became the foundation of the metric system. Using a unit of length called the meter was first proposed in 1670 by Gabriel Mouton. It was not until 1790 that the French government imposed the Decimal Metric System based on the meter, liter, and gram. The system so outraged the public that it was rejected in 1793 and not reintroduced until 1837. By 1875, The Treaty of the Meter was signed by representa-tives of 17 countries and an International Bureau of Weights and Measures was established.
Scientists often use numbers that are so large or so small that they dazzle and confuse the mind.
For example, the diameter of the nucleus of an atom is about 0.0000000000001 centimeters. In very large numbers it is difficult to keep track of the zeros in such quantities. It is also extremely difficult to express these values in words. Therefore, scientists have found it convenient to express such numbers as powers of 10 and to refer to this form as scientific notation. Negative exponents are used to indicate numbers LESS than 1.