History and Measurement of the Base and Derived Units (Springer Series in Measurement Science and Technology)

This book discusses how and why historical measurement units developed, and reviews useful methods for making conversions as well as situations in which dimensional analysis can be used. It starts from the history of length measurement, which is one of the oldest measures used by humans. It highlights the importance of area measurement, briefly discussing the methods for determining areas mathematically and by measurement. The book continues on to detail the development of measures for volume, mass, weight, time, temperature, angle, electrical units, amounts of substances, and light intensity. The seven SI/metric base units are highlighted, as well as a number of other units that have historically been used as base units. Providing a comprehensive reference for interconversion among the commonly measured quantities in the different measurement systems with engineering accuracy, it also examines the relationships among base units in fields such as mechanical/thermal, electromagnetic and physical flow rates and fluxes using diagrams. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Measurement Perspectives (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 1-60 Interconversion of Units (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 61-69 Metric and U.S. Customary/English Systems (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 71-100 Historical Length or Distance (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 101-299 Historical Area (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 301-390 Historical Volume or Capacity (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 391-561 Historical Weight and Mass (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 563-771 Historical Time (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 773-835 Historical Temperature (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 837-864 Historical Angular Measurement (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 865-884 Historical Electrical Charge and Current (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 885-907 Historical Amounts of Substances (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 909-925 Historical Luminous Intensity (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 927-945 From Base Units to Derived Units (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 947-1017 Common Modern Conversions (Steven A. Treese)....Pages 1019-1121