Abstract
The origin of the metric system, and of its later version, the International System (Système International, SI) of units, goes back a long way into French history. Before that, the old French measures had presented two serious problems:
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units with the same name varied from one region to the next and had to be defined accordingly (pied de Paris, etc.)
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subdivisions were not decimal, which increased the complexity of commercial transactions
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References
Sainte-Claire Deville, H., Broch et Stas, De la règle en forme de X en platine iridié pur à 10 pour cent d’iridium. Ann. Chim. Phys., 22 (1881) 120–144.
Sainte-Claire Deville, H., et Mascart, E., Ann. École Normale, 8 (1879) 9.
Subsequent to the statutory order no. 61-501 of May 3rd, 1961, which appeared in the Journal Officiel de la République Française of May 20th, 1961 (Lois et Décrets, Ministère de l’Industrie, pp 4584–4593).
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© 1999 Springer-Verlag London Limited
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Cardarelli, F. (1999). The International System of Units. In: Scientific Unit Conversion. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0805-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0805-4_2
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