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Article ID: CBB001211297

The “nec plus ultra” of Precision Measurement: Geodesy and the Forgotten Purpose of the Metre Convention (2012)

Kershaw, Michael (Author)

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Volume: 43, no. 4
Issue: 4
Pages: 563-576

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Measurement Metric system Geodesy Exactness; precision; accuracy Standards and standardization 19th century Convention du mètre (1875)

I examine the contribution of geodesy to techniques and standards of precision length measurement. That allows rediscovery of the original, geodetic, purpose of the Metre Convention of 1875. The International Metre created by that convention is shown to be the first global étalon of length. I emphasise the role of the coherence of the web of measurement in the context of change in standards.

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