American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1866-11-28

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vast than practical. There is reason to
bclievc, from later labors, that there was
a serious error in the work. Thus the
distance of 100000 600 meters from the
equator to the north pole, established by
the French Observers, is too small by 935
yards, according 10 Bessel; by l,410
yards, according to Puissant; and by L.
967 according to Chazallon. Sir John
Herschell has also testified with the au-
thcrity of his great name against the ac-
curacy Of this result If there be an
error, such as is supposed, then the mes
ter ceases to be what it was originally
called, one ten milionth partof the dis
tance from the equator to the north pole.
Even assuming that there is no error,
and that the meter is precisely what it
purports to be, yet it is not easy to see
how the artificial standa ID can be cor
rected by a recurrence to the standard in
nature. The massive work originally un-
dertaken will not be repeated The ass
trc. omers of France will not verify the
accuracy of the bar of platinum which is
the artificial standard, by another scien-
tific enterprise, requiring years for its
completion Therefore, tor all practical
purposes the meter is really nothing else
than a bar of platinum of certain length
preserved in the archives of France. 1t
is not less arbitrary as a standard than
the yard or foot, and it can be perpetua-
ted in practice only by the distribution
of exact copies of the original bar, which
is the assumed meter.
| have entered into this explanation of
the origin and character of the meter be-
cause | desire that the admirable system
viii ii is founded on it should be seen ac>
tually as it is. To my mind it gains
nothing from the theory which preceded
at its origin. Its unit is not to be re-
garded as certain portion of the dis
tance Between the equator and the north
pole, but as 'an artificial measure determ-
ined with peculiar care. Had the same
or any other measure been selected with
out any measurement of the earth, the
metric system would not have been less
beautiful or perfect.
Look now at the sys EN-. The meter
which is assum I'd to be one ten>millionth
part of the distance from the equator to
the poles, is, in fact, 365 inches or 1897
inches in length. 1t is especially the
uuir'of length, but it is also the unit from
which all measures OF weight and capac,
ity, square or cubic, are derived. 1t is at
cnco the fJuudation-stonc and cap.stone to
the whole system. Itis foundations stone
to all in the ascending series and cap
stone to all in the descending series.
The unit of measures Of surface or
land measures is the are, from the Latin
area, and is the square of ten meters, or,
in other words, a square of which each
side is ten meters in leugth.
The unit of solid MEASURE is the stere,
from the Greek, and is the cube of a me-
ter, or, in other words, solid mass one
meter long, one meter broad und one me-
ter high.
| The unit of liquid measures is the liter,
from the Greek, and is the cube of the
tenth part of the meter, which is the dec"
imctcr, or, in other words, it is a vessel,
where by interior measurement each side
and the bottom are square deci'actcrs.
The unit of weight IS the grnm, also
derived from the Greek, and is the one>
thousandth part of the-weight of cubic
liter of distilled water-at its greatest
density-this being just above the freez,
ing point.
Such arc the main elements of the
metric system: But each of these has
its multiples and its subdivisions. 1t is
multiplied decimally upward and divided
decimaly downward. The multiples are
derived from the Greek. Thus, VEGA,
4 Ten hccto, hundred hio, thousand and
myrio, ten thousand, prehxed to meter,
j signify ten meters, one thousand meters,
aod ten thousand meters. The subdi>
visions ale deriv vcd from the Latin. Thus
decf, cent?, mill, prefxed to meter, sig
nifty one,tonth, one>h undredth, and one,
thousandth of meter.
These same pre6xes may be applied in
ascending and descending scales to the
are. the liter and the gra u. Thus, fol
example, VIC have in the ascending scale,
dccogram, hectogram, kilogram, and n'y'
ridgram; and in the descending scale,
decigram, eentigram, mizhgram.
In this brief space yon behold the
whole metric system of weights and meas
ures. What contrast to the antetiol
confusion A boy at school can maste,