Units of Measure -NYSAPLS Conf January 2019
Units of Measure
Scott Reeser, P.L.S. NYSAPLS 2019 Conference
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INTRODUCTION:
• 30 years experience in the surveying profession • Graduate of Penn State survey program • Licensed in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Colorado • Been a member of home state’s professional society for many years •Presenter at several of Pennsylvania’s annual conferences •Just another surveyor trying to share information with others and gain knowledge from fellow professionals.
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WARNING:
This presentation is not intended to be a class lecture. The intent is to present the attendees with information I have gathered thru various sources and stimulate discussion on these topics. Participation from the attendees is essential to the success of the session. Everyone in attendance is asked to provide input and ask questions. By gathering input from those present, we may all learn something by the end of the day.
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“Man is the measure of all things” – Protagoras (Greek Sophist, 485-411 BC)
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OBJECTIVES OF THIS SESSION:
– Identify primary categories of measurement
– Discuss how certain units developed and became standardized
– Talk about the Metric (SI) system
– Show ways to convert units
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DEFINITION OF A UNIT OF MEASURE:
A unit of measure is a way for people to define quantities of items in a standard manner.
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PRIMARY CATEGORIES OF MEASURE
The four (4) most common categories of measure are:
– Weight / Mass
– Length
– Area
– Volume
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DEVELOPMENT OF UNITS
Units of measure have developed over time in one of the following methods:
– Historical Development
– Planned Development
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Parasang
– One of the oldest units of measure
– Varying definitions – Distance at which an animal could be distinguished between black or white – 15,000 paces in good weather on flat terrain – 6,000 paces in poor weather on rough terrain
– Obviously not very standardized unit of measure
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Use of Body References:
– Frequently tied to a culture’s royalty
– Actual length changed frequently
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Use of Body References
– Cubit
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Use of Body References
– Finger
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Use of Body References
– Roman Foot
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Historical People – First Emperor of China, Shi Huang Di – Weighing objects needed to be uniform
– George Washington’s 1790 address to congress – “Uniformity in the Currency, Weights and Measures of the United States is an object of great importance, and will, I am persuaded, be duly attended to.
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Historical People (cont.) – John Quincy Adams – On the Metric system, “worthy of acceptance… question”
– Gerald Ford – Signed the Metric Conversion Act into Law in 1975
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PLANNED DEVELOPMENT
Units that have been ‘designed’ rather than evolved
– Standardization throughout Europe
– Development of the Metric System
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STANDARDIZATION AND MANAGMENT
– Weight and Measures act of 1824 (England)
– Office of Standard Weight and Measures, under US Treasury Department
– National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly National Bureau of Standards, 1988)
– International System of Units
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VARIOUS UNITS OF MEASURE
Inch – Romans were the first to use the term ‘inch’
– Common definition = width of a thumb
– Anglo-Saxon era defines an inch as 3 barley corns
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VARIOUS UNITS OF MEASURE
Foot – Romans were the first to use the term ‘foot’ – First divided into 16 digits – Five Roman feet equal a pace – Intended to be the length of a man’s sandal
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VARIOUS UNITS OF MEASURE
Foot – US Survey Foot versus International Foot? – US Survey Foot = 0.3048006096 meters – International Foot = 0.3048 meters
– Other definitions of a foot – Philadelphia District Standard Measure – Others?
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VARIOUS UNITS OF MEASURE
Yard – Defined in the 1100’s by King Henry I – Distance from the tip of his nose to his outstretched arm
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VARIOUS UNITS OF MEASURE
Mile – Mille passus is the length of 1,000 Roman paces – Roman pace is 2 steps, one left, one right
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VARIOUS UNITS OF MEASURE
Rod / Pole / Perch – Interchangeable term developed during Anglo-Saxon era – Rod: 20 ‘natural feet’ – Pole: feet of 16 men standing in a line
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VARIOUS UNITS OF MEASURE
Chain – Developed by 17th century mathematician Edmund Gunter – The length of an acre’s breadth and divided into links
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VARIOUS UNITS OF MEASURE
Acre – British invention – Area an ox can plow in one day – One chain by one furlong
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VARIOUS UNITS OF MEASURE
Smoot – Height of Oliver Smoot – Originated in 1958 on the MIT Campus
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CONVERSIONS
– Common Conversions – How many inches in a foot? 12 – How many feet in a yard? 3 – How many feet in a meter? 3.28084 – How many feet in a rod? 16.5
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CONVERSIONS
– Common Conversions (contd.) – How many links (chain) in a foot? 0.66 – How many feet in a perch? 16.5 – How many feet in a mile? 5,280 – How many square feet in an acre? 43,560
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CONVERSIONS
– Common Conversions – How many square feet in a perch? 160 – How many inches in a vara? 33 1/3 – How many feet in a pole? 16.5
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CONVERSIONS
– Device Apps – Too many to lost, but there are plenty of options
– Websites – www.convertunits.com – www.unitconverters.net – www.digitaldutch.com/unitsconverter/length.htm
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THE METRIC SYSTEM
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THE METRIC SYSTEM
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THE METRIC SYSTEM
– Developed in France in late 18th Century
– Meter based on the length from North Pole to the equator
– Ten millionth part of ¼ of the terrestrial meridian
– Calculations by Pierre-Francois Mechain and Jean-Baptiste Delambre
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THE METRIC SYSTEM
– Universally accepted – Of all the Nations participating in the UN, only 3 do not use – Myanmar – Liberia – USA – US Congress Metric Act of 1866 &Metrification Act 1975 – Definition of ‘meter’ changed twice since its inception
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THE METRIC SYSTEM
– US Congress Metric Act of 1866: The Metric Act of 1866, enacted July 28, 1866, legally recognized the metric system of measurement in the US. It’s sometimes referred to as the Kasson Act, after Congressman John A. Kasson of Iowa, who chaired the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures.
– Metric Conversion Act 1975: The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 designated the metric system as the preferred system of weights and measures for US trade and commerce, and directed federal agencies to convert to the metric system, to the extent feasible, including the use of metric in construction of federal facilities.
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THE METRIC SYSTEM
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Recap:
– Identified primary categories of measurement
– Discussed how certain units developed and became standardized
– Talked about the metric system
– Showed ways to convert units
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References & Credits:
I cannot take credit for the technical information in this presentation, it is a collection or research I have collected from a host of sources that include: – Measurement System; Encyclopedia Britannica; by Lawrence James Chisholm & Ronald Zupko (www.britannica.com/science/measurement-system) – The weird and wonderful world of units of measurement; by Becky Kleanthous (www.thecalculatorsite.com/articles/units/lengths-distance-measurements.php) – English Customary Weights and Measures; by Russ Rowlett (www.unc.edu/~rowlet/units/custom.html) – History of Measurement; (www.frend-metrology.com/en/history/history- measurement.asp) – US Metric Association; (www.us-metric.org)
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