3 ms·
The metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 second. The metre was originally defined in 1793 as one ten-mill
by leni536 8y ago
The metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 second.
The metre was originally defined in 1793 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole.
I don't know where you got the "distance to Paris" idea. From what?
- reaperducer 8y agoThank you for that. I stand corrected. I once looked up (probably pre-Wikipedia) the standard for the length of a kilometer and saw that it was 1/1000th of the distance from Paris to the North Pole. That's what I get for believing the internet. I rescind my bureaucratic criticism of the metric system. But I still like using easy-to-remember natural conventions like inch=thumb, foot=forearm, yard=arm's length. Mile still seems arbitrary, though. I'l have to look into that one.
- jameshart 8y agoWell originally, it was of course the distance from the equator to the North Pole through Paris - which is the distance from the north pole to Paris, plus the distance form the equator to Paris.