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Why did they come up with 96 instead of 100, a nice round number?
by folli 6y ago
Why did they come up with 96 instead of 100, a nice round number?
- JadeNB 6y agoSounds like the motivation was powers of 2, not 10.
- jcranmer 6y agoImagine you've just made yourself a thermometer by marking off the 0° and 100° points. Now delineate the 2° intervals, using only the tools you would have had available in the early 18th century. Now imagine making a thermometer by marking off the 32° and 96° points (64° apart). Now delineate the 2° intervals. Considering those two tasks, 64 seems a much better number to me (only have to divide unit lengths in half) than 100 (have to divide something by 5).
- folli 6y agoGreat explanation, thanks.