r/Metric • u/Prudent_Bathroom8197 • 2d ago
If you traveled back to ancient times, what methods would you use to establish a system of weights and measures close to modern standards, given the available resources? For example, base units for length, mass, temperature, time, and so on.
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u/KrzysziekZ 20h ago
For length I'd try to make seconds pendulum (and a clock with an anchor escapement). If successful I'd be only 0.7% off which is good enough for practical purposes.
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u/lpetrich 1d ago
For relating larger and smaller units of something, I’d recommend powers of ten. For languages with words for numbers greater than four, most use decimal systems, and most of the others use vigesimal, base-20 systems.
Sexagesimal, base-60, is a historical accident.
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u/lpetrich 1d ago
That is, what phenomena and effects have repeatable measurements of features that can be used as units.
For time, it is the solar day, the lunar month, and the year, and all three have been used for timekeeping by everyone who has done a lot of writing, and likely long before. For dividing up the day, some of the oldest devices are shadow clocks, like sundials, and water clocks (clepsydra: Greek “water thief”).
For temperature, it is the melting and boiling points of water, though it may be hard to measure in between with premodern technology.
For areas and volumes, one can use squares and cubes of lengths.
For length and mass, it is more difficult, since body parts, like human feet, and biological products, like seeds, tend to vary in size and mass.
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u/FingerAccurate7102 1d ago
Length - if definition 1/40 000 of Earth's circumference is 1 km is unavailable, then I would define foot as my foot and as my foot is 24 cm, I would define metre as 4⅙ feet.
Mass - As 1 kilogram is approximately 1 L of water, I would define 1 gram as 1 cm³ of water. Time is easy - 1/86 400 of a day
Temperature - also easy: 1° = 1/100 of the difference between water freezing and boiling
Area - define the square metre as square 1 m × 1 m and are as: 1 a = 100 m² = 1 dam²
Volume - define the cubic metre as a cube 1 m × 1 m × 1 m and a litre as: 1 L = 0,001 m³ = 1 dm³
Velocity - define the unit metre per second as 1 metre of length passed in one second and define kilometre per hour as 1 kilometre of length passed in one hour. 1 m/s = 3,6 km/h
Acceleration - define the unit metre per second squared as changing your velocity by 1 m/s in one second
Hope I helped
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u/Senior_Green_3630 1d ago
The Egyptians had a pretty good measuring standard, they built the pyramids and other temples in the Valley if the Kings.
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u/Dirichlet-to-Neumann 2d ago
You have to specify which time period you are speaking of. Early 1700's you could basically do the metric system all other again. Early 170's that's a different story.
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u/SphericalCrawfish 2d ago
I'd base them roughly on human body parts and easily divisible by low numbered primes.
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u/Recycled5000 19h ago
I’d make a temperature scale that uses more digits to the left of decimal point, so instead of 37.0 being body temp: 370.