History of Measurements
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the fascinating history of measurement units, from ancient Egyptian Cubit to modern metric system. It highlights how units like the fathom, handspan, and pace evolved with human needs. The script also underscores the importance of standardization, exemplified by the meter's origin from Earth's circumference. It cautions the perils of unit confusion, citing the Mars Climate Orbiter mishap. Historical notes on Fahrenheit and Celsius scales add context. The narrative concludes with the amusing tale of the 'Smoot,' an MIT student's height used to measure a bridge, emphasizing the human element in measurement systems.
Takeaways
- 📏 The Cubit was an ancient Egyptian unit of measurement, from elbow to the tip of the middle finger.
- 🌊 The Fathom was used by seamen to measure water depth, from fingertip to fingertip with arms stretched.
- 🐎 The Handspan was used to measure the height of horses, from the tip of the pinky to the thumb.
- 🏃♂️ The Pace was a Roman military measurement for speed, equal to the length of an individual's foot.
- 👑 King Henry I standardized the pace because his foot was 12 inches long.
- 📏 The Girth was used to measure fishing line, equivalent to the measurement around one's stomach.
- 🤚 The Palm was the width of four fingers placed together.
- 🔄 The need for standardized units arose with trade and taxation, leading to the creation of standardized weights and measures.
- 📏 The early English inch was defined as the length of three barley corns laid end to end.
- 🌐 The meter was originally defined as 1/10,000,000 of the Earth's circumference from the equator to the North Pole.
- 💧 The liter was derived from the meter by taking 10 cm and multiplying its length, width, and height to get a volume measure.
- 📊 The gram was defined as the mass of 1 cubic cm of water.
Q & A
What is a Cubit, and how was it used by the Egyptians?
-A Cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger when the arm is extended. It was used by the Egyptians to build the pyramids.
How is the fathom defined, and what was its practical use?
-A fathom is the distance from fingertip to fingertip when both arms are stretched sideways. It was used by seamen to measure water depth to prevent boats from running aground.
What does 'hand span' refer to, and where is it commonly used?
-Hand span refers to the distance from the tip of the pinky to the tip of the thumb when the hand is stretched out. It is commonly used to measure the height of horses.
What is the origin of the term 'pace' and how is it used?
-The term 'pace' originated from the Roman army, where it was used to judge speed. It refers to the distance covered by one step and is still used in foot races today.
Why was King Henry I's foot important in standardizing measurements?
-King Henry I standardized the measurement of a foot to be 12 inches, based on the length of his own foot.
What is the 'palm' measurement, and how is it calculated?
-The 'palm' is the width of four fingers when placed together.
How did scientists define the length of the meter during the 18th century?
-Scientists measured the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole and divided it into 10 million parts, establishing the length of the meter.
What was the cause of the Mars Climate Orbiter disaster in 1999?
-The Mars Climate Orbiter was lost due to confusion between English and metric units. Teams from different facilities were unknowingly exchanging vital information in different unit systems.
What is the historical significance of the Smoot measurement?
-The Smoot is a unit of measurement derived from Oliver R. Smoot’s height, used to measure the length of the Harvard Bridge in 1958. It became a local legend and a standard unit for the bridge.
How did the mix-up between metric and English units affect Air Canada Flight 143 in 1983?
-Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel mid-flight due to a misunderstanding between metric units and English units for fuel calculations. The crew used incorrect conversions, leading to a fuel shortage.
Outlines
📏 Early Measurement Techniques
This paragraph discusses the history of early measurement techniques, beginning with the Cubit used by the Egyptians for building pyramids. It also covers various units like the fathom for measuring water depth, the handspan for horse height, the pace used by the Roman army, and the foot standardized by King Henry I. Each unit is explained with respect to how it relates to the human body or its application in daily life.
✈️ Metric System Mistakes in Aviation and Space
This paragraph presents two major incidents caused by confusion between metric and English units. The first incident is the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter due to a miscommunication of units between two teams. The second is an Air Canada flight running out of fuel mid-flight because the crew used the wrong conversion factor for fuel calculations. Both highlight the critical importance of standardized measurements in modern technology.
📐 The Smoot and the Birth of a New Unit of Measure
This paragraph tells the humorous origin of the 'Smoot' as a unit of measurement. Oliver R. Smoot, an MIT student, was used to measure the length of the Harvard Bridge as part of a fraternity pledge task. His height, 5'7", became a unique unit called the Smoot. The bridge's length was determined to be 364.5 Smoots, and this unit gained local recognition. Despite resurfacing work on the bridge, the Smoot markings were preserved as part of local history.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cubit
💡Fathom
💡Handspan
💡Pace
💡Girth
💡Palm
💡Standardization
💡Metric System
💡Mars Climate Orbiter
💡Fahrenheit Scale
💡Smoot
Highlights
The Cubit was an ancient Egyptian measurement used to build the pyramids, equivalent to the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.
The Fathom was a measurement used by seamen to measure water depth, equivalent to the distance from fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched.
The Handspan was used to measure the height of horses, from the tip of the pinky to the tip of the thumb when the hand is outstretched.
The Pace was a term used by the Roman army to judge speed and is still used in foot races, equivalent to the length of an individual's foot.
King Henry I standardized the pace measurement because his foot was 12 inches long.
The Girth was a measurement used to measure fishing line, equivalent to the measurement around one's stomach or belt.
The Palm is the width of four fingers placed together.
The need for standardized units arose with trade and taxation, leading to the creation of standardized weights and measures.
The early English inch was defined as the length of three barley corns laid end to end.
The meter was originally defined as 1/4 of the Earth's circumference, divided into 10 million parts.
The liter was derived from the meter by taking a 10 cm cube to measure volume.
The gram was defined as the mass of 1 cubic cm of water.
The Mars Climate Orbiter was lost in 1999 due to a unit mix-up between English and metric units.
Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel in 1983 due to a metric unit mix-up with the new Boeing 767's fuel computation system.
The Fahrenheit scale was invented by Gabriel Fahrenheit in 1714, with 0° F representing the coldest temperature he could create.
The metric system is based on water, with 0 degrees C for freezing and 100 degrees C for boiling.
Oliver R. Smoot's height was used to measure the length of the Harvard Bridge in 1958, creating the 'Smoot' as a unit of length.
The Smoot measurement was preserved during bridge renovations in 1987, becoming a local legend.
The assignment encourages creating a personal measuring system, similar to the Smoot, to measure objects in a classroom.
Transcripts
in this video I'm going to go over the
early measurement
history all right so what do the
following terms mean read through those
some of those you might have heard some
you may not have heard of
before right so the Cubit the Cubit was
the measurement used by the Egyptians to
build the pyramids right so Cubit is the
measure from your elbow to the tip of
your middle finger when your arm is
extended the fathom
the fathom was used by seamen to measure
the depth of water so that boats would
not run ground and be
stranded the fathom is the measure from
the fingertip to the fingertip when your
arms are stretched sideways as far as
they will go you sometimes see a rope or
fabric measured this way as
well all right the hand span the hand
spand was used to measure the height of
horse horses people still describe
horses as being so many hands
high right so the handspan is the
measure from the tip of your pinky to
the tip of your thumb when your hand is
stretched
out right then we've got the pace this
term was used by the Roman army to judge
speed the term is still used frequently
during various types of foot
races the pace is the measure of
distance from one step to another
at the foot a measurement equal to the
length of an individual's foot King
Henry I standardized this measurement
because his foot was 12 in
Long right you've got the girth girth
was a measurement often used to measure
fishing line and the girth was the
measurement around one's stomach or your
belt
measurement the palm the Palm is the
width of your four fingers when they are
placed together
together right so the history of
measurements right here's some
examples of uh measurements being used
in
history right so measuring in this
fashion can be quite challenging since
you don't have a
standard right with trade and Taxation
came the need for standardized
units right so here's some examples of
where they actually use these in ancient
times standardized weights
right bronze ruler and some more
standardized uh
weights systems of measurement commonly
used today in early or the early English
inch was defined as the length of
three barley corns laid end to
end here's a stamp commemorating the
French Republic measuring one4 of the
Earth's circumference which was the
original idea behind the
meter all right so how did the metric
system come
about well during the 18th century
scientists measured the distance from
the earth's equator to its North Pole
and divided it into 10 million
parts right this is how they came up
with the length of the standard
meter right so the meter is a standard
for the meter is kept in a safe in
France the meter stick is a replica of
that standard so meter is made up of 100
cm and 1,000
mm right the lader scientists needed a
way to measure liquids so they took 10
cm and multiplied it by its length width
and height to come up with a standard
for measuring
volume okay so that means the liter is
the size of 10 cm cubed
okay and that later is then used to
measure
liquids all right so the gram scientists
needed a standard to measure mass mass
is the amount of matter in an object
they decided to take 1 cubic cm of water
and call it a
gram okay so always give units with a
measurement all right here's an example
example the missing Mars climate Orbiter
it was lost in space in September 1999
the United States lost the Mars climate
Orbiter as it approached Mars the loss
of the
125 million spacecraft was due to
scientists confusing English units and
metric units two spacecraft teams one at
NASA jet propulsion lab in Pasadena
California and the other at a lockhead
Martin facility in Colorado where the
spacecraft was built we're unknowingly
exchanging some Vital Information in
different
units all right and then also another
mixup on July 23rd
1983 Air Canada Flight 143 a brand new
Boeing 767 ran out of fuel while in
route to Edmonton from Montreal at
26,000 ft miraculously the caption
was able to
land okay that is a typo miraculously
the captain was able to land the plane
on an abandoned Royal Canadian Air Force
Base at gimy where the runways were
converted into two-lane drag strips for
auto racing no one was killed right so
this ma mistake was caused by the
ignorance of metric units the new
767 used liters and K kg to commute
compute fuel consumption while the crew
and refuelers were only familiar with
pounds and gallons they used 1.77 PB
liter instead of 0.8 kgam per liter the
fuel quantity information system was in
operative before the flight was started
in
Montreal right so here's some Historical
Notes the Fahrenheit scale was invented
by German born scientist Gabriel
Fahrenheit in
1714 it's really nice you make up a unit
of measurement and then you get
everybody uh to start using it and then
you can name it after yourself it's
pretty cool here originally defined the
scale with 0° fah representing the
coldest temperature he could create in
the hope of avoiding negative numbers
with a mixture of ice and salt there is
some controversy on these fact
uh some books will tell you a different
way that he came about it this
particular one is the most accepted uh
some of them talk about the coldest
temperature that he experienced um in
Germany and the hottest temperatures he
experienced in Germany for that year uh
others are uh this way that I'm
explaining now so again you'll hear some
controversy on this but this is right
now the most accepted all right so he
also wanted 100° F to be about the human
body temperature and wanted to have 180
equal parts between the freezing and
boiling points of pure water it turns
out that the body temperature varies a
lot between people and is not even
constant for the same person the average
is however 98.6 de fahr so they talk
about that if this is uh right now the
accepted way that they think that he
came up with Fahrenheit then he must
been running a temperature um at that
point it must have uh his standard might
have been a higher temperature all right
but the American Standard we use
Fahrenheit which is 32° Fahrenheit for
freezing and 212° Fahrenheit for boiling
the metric system was based on water
pure water that is uh freezing being 0
degrees C and again this is uh at sea
level uh not up in the mountains all
right but at 0 degre C is freezing and
100° C is at uh the boiling
point so basically like in this next
example here someone comes up with a
measuring system they do a lot of study
on it they uh then try to get everybody
to adopt it right try to get the
scientific Community to start using
their measuring system um that is
basically what you're going to be doing
in the next assignment is you are going
to come up with your own measuring
system just like the Smoot here back in
October 1958 Oliver R Smoot was a firste
student at MIT trying to join a
fraternity Lambda Kai Alpha during
pledge week wannabe Frat Boys were asked
to do semi insane things to demonstrate
their willingness to be humiliated by
upper classman a test of character for
certain fraternities in Oliver's case
the assignment was to go with a bunch of
other pledges to a bridge the Harvard
bridge that spans the Charles River and
measure its length they were told to use
one of their members as a
ruler Smoot was chosen for the job
because he was the shortest and had the
silliest
name the measurement was done by
getting Smoot to lie down marking his
height with chalk and paint then getting
him to stand up up move one length
further along and get down again and
again and again for a while Smoot did it
under his own steam but after a hundred
or so times he became tired and his
companions ended up simply dragging him
from one space to the next in this way
it was determined that the bridge was
364.5 smoots long plus an ear and so the
Smoot was born a smoot is the length of
one one 18-year-old Oliver R Smoot which
translates to 5' 7 in exactly here's a
picture of
Smoot right and then a little drawing
that somebody had uh written
down all right so in 1987 the
Massachusetts Department of Public Works
decided that the bridge needed
Renovations and resurfacing and this
meant removing all the Smoot markings
this caused something of a common of a
commotion locally and the Press
contacted Oliver smot who was the
Executive Vice President of the computer
and business equipment manufacturers
Association in Washington DC to ask
whether he would be prepared to be
reused for new markings should the need
arise he was less than sure that he
would meantime the Massachusetts
Metropolitan District commission the
folks in charge of the bridge went on
record in support of
smoots we recognize the smoots role in
local history that's not to mean that
the agency encourages graffiti painting
but smoots aren't just any kind of
graffiti they're smoots and so the
Continental construction company of
Cambridge paved the bridge with slabs
that were 5' 7 in Long smooth length
instead of the usual 6t in
increments right so the Smoot became a
legend just because um they made up this
unit which happened to be his height
which today he still lives all right and
um he is a standard he made up this unit
of his height and was able to measure
something and still today it is a
standard so it's just in you make up a
unit you get other people to use it and
it becomes a standard
right so in the uh activity you're going
to be making your own
unit uh just like Smoot himself did and
you're going to measure things around
the classroom uh with your new base unit
uh whatever you want to base it on just
make sure it is based on the length of
something to make your unit of length uh
for you and your team
関連動画をさらに表示
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)