The Portland daily press., 1878-03-06
The Metric System.

Last evening Prof. Markoe of Harvard Col
| lege delivered a lecture at Reception Hall upon
| the metric system of weights and measures.
Owing to the limited advertisement of the
lecture there was not large attendance Prof
Markoe illustrated the new system by weights
and measures and made his lecture very inter-
uref commenced with q description of the pres.
est inconvenient system of weights and meas
ures. The aim of the new system is comprised
in three words, uniformity, permanency, and
universally; one standard to be the same for
all persons and all purposes and to continue
the same forever.
Quincy Adams, Uniformity Of weights and
measures, permanent, universal uniformity,
adapted to the nature Of things, to the physical
organization and to the moral improvement of
man, would be a blessing OF such transcendent
magnitude, that, If there existed upon earth
continuation of power and will adequate to &C.
complish the result by the energy of single
act. .he being who should exercise it would be
among the greatest benefactors OF the human
race"
of meterology should possess the following four
characteristics:
/. Its base-unit should be common measure
OF all its derivative units.
2. That its derivative units should increase
and decrease by the decimal or some uniform
scale.
g. That its denominations should be express
ed by convenient, definite, and significant
terms; and,
4. That It's standard unit should be invaria-
BILE and indestructible or reproducible.
The two essential principles upon which this
system is founded are
1. That the unit of linear measure applied to
matter in its three forms of extension, viz,
length, breadth and thickness, should be the
standard of all measures of length; surface and
solidity; and
2. The cubic contents of the linear measures
in distilled water at the temperature of great
est contraction, should furnish at once the
standard weight and measure OF capacity.
The system in substance is this: o. The
unit of length, the meter, is the ten millionth
part of a quadrant of the meridian of Paris,
computed from trigonometrical measurement
of the arc of nine degrees and upwards between
nearly. (2) The unit Of superfices, the ar,
is the square of ten meters, or hundred square
meters. 81 The unit of capacity, the liter, is
cubic whose edge is a tenth of a meter. ~
The unit of weight, the gram, is the weight OF q
cube of rain water at its extreme contraction,
whose edge is q hundredth of meter. These
four are the primary units of the system, and
from these four all others are; derived, accord
ing to the decimal scale.
The perfection of its nomenclature furnishes
one OF the most powerful arguments Tor the
adoption of the system. 1t combines, in the
highest degree, uniformity, precision, and sig
nifcancy. The multiples Of the primary units
are denoted by prefxing to them sylables de-
rived from the Greek language, significant of
their increase in decimal proportion. The sub
divisions, or decimal fractions of these units,
are equally significant in their names, the syl-
liable preixed being derived from the Latin
language. Four of the prefxes for multiplied.
ton and three for division are all that the sys-
tenn requires. These seveal prefxes, with the
all, practically constitute its whole vocabulary;
and yet each denomination has distinct
name, and each name definite meaning; no
two words express the same thing, and no two
things are sgnifed by the same word. This
nomenclature is not only unrivalled in respect
to precision, significance, brevity, and COM
pleteness, but, being derived from the two
ancient CLASSICAL languages it becomes ~cosmo-
politan in character.