A Measure for All People: The History of Metrics
Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
Release Date: 05/27/2025
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak
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How did a bold Enlightenment vision become the universal language of science and technology? In this episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle takes you on a journey through the revolutionary origins, global adoption, and modern significance of the metric system. Discover how a chaotic world of local measurements gave way to an elegant, decimal-based system designed to unify not just France—but the entire planet. From the daring expedition of Delambre and Méchain to today's atomic-clock-calibrated definitions, this story reveals how the metric system continues to shape spaceflight, AI, and even cryptocurrency.
3 Things You Will Learn
Why the French Revolution called for a measurement system “for all people, for all time.”
How the metric system evolved from platinum prototypes to quantum-based constants.
Why the metric system is essential in today’s world, from Mars missions to microchips.
Resources & References
BIPM – International System of Units (SI)
NIST – Redefinition of the Kilogram
Alder, Ken. The Measure of All Things
Quinn, Terry. From Artefacts to Atoms
O’Connor, Anahad. “Why the U.S. Doesn't Use the Metric System” – The New York Times
Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h
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Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers
Waltz with Me by Beat Mekanik
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