What does the French Revolution have to do with the time NASA accidentally crashed a $200 million orbiter into the surface of Mars? Actually, everything. That crash happened due to an error in converting between two measurement systems, U.S. customary units and their S.I, or metric, equivalence. So what's the connection to the French Revolution? Let's explain. For the majority of recorded human history, units like the weight of a grain or the length of a hand weren't exact and varied from place to place. And different regions didn't just use varying measurements. They had completely different number systems as well. By the late Middle Ages, the Hindu-Arabic decimal system mostly replaced Roman numerals and fractions in Europe, but efforts by scholars like John Wilkins to promote standard decimal-based measures were less successful. With a quarter million different units in France alone, any widespread change would require massive disruption. And in 1789, that disruption came. The leaders of the French Revolution didn't just overthrow the monarchy. They sought to completely transform society according to the rational principles of the Enlightenment. When the new government took power, the Academy of Sciences convened to reform the system of measurements. Old standards based on arbitrary authority or local traditions were replaced with mathematical and natural relationships. For example, the meter, from the Greek word for measure, was defined as 1/10,000,000 between the Equator and North Pole. And the new metric system was, in the words of the Marquis de Condorcet, "For all people, for all time." Standardizing measurements had political advantages for the Revolutionaries as well. Nobles could no longer manipulate local units to extract more rent from commoners, while the government could collect taxes more efficiently. And switching to a new Republican Calendar with ten-day weeks reduced church power by eliminating Sundays. Adoption of this new system wasn't easy. In fact, it was a bit of a mess. At first, people used new units alongside old ones, and the Republican Calendar was eventually abandoned. When Napoléon Bonaparte took power, he allowed small businesses to use traditional measurements redefined in metric terms. But the metric system remained standard for formal use, and it spread across the continent, along with France's borders. While Napoléon's empire lasted eight years, its legacy endured far longer. Some European countries reverted to old measurements upon independence. Others realized the value of standardization in an age of international trade. After Portugal and the Netherlands switched to metric voluntarily, other nations followed, with colonial empires spreading the system around the world. As France's main rival, Britain had resisted revolutionary ideas and retained its traditional units. But over the next two centuries, the British Empire slowly transitioned, first approving the metric system as an optional alternative before gradually making it offical. However, this switch came too late for thirteen former colonies that had already gained independence. The United States of America stuck with the English units of its colonial past and today remains one of only three countries which haven't fully embraced the metric system. Despite constant initiatives for metrication, many Americans consider units like feet and pounds more intuitive. And ironically, some regard the once revolutionary metric system as a symbol of global conformity. Nevertheless, the metric system is almost universally used in science and medicine, and it continues to evolve according to its original principles. For a long time, standard units were actually defined by carefully maintained physical prototypes. But thanks to improving technology and precision, these objects with limited access and unreliable longevity are now being replaced with standards based on universal constants, like the speed of light. Consistent measurements are such an integral part of our daily lives that it's hard to appreciate what a major accomplishment for humanity they've been. And just as it arose from a political revolution, the metric system remains crucial for the scientific revolutions to come.
Kakve veze Francuska revolucija ima sa trenutkom kada je NASA slučajno srušila orbiter od 200 miliona dolara na površinu Marsa? Zapravo, sasvim su povezani. Taj sudar se dogodio usled greške u konvertovanju između dva sistema merenja, standardnih jedinica mera SAD-a i njemu jednakih vrednosti u SI ili metričkom sistemu. Pa, kakve to ima veze sa Francuskom revolucijom? Hajde da objasnimo. Većim delom zabeležene ljudske istorije, jedinice poput težine zrna ili dužine ruke nisu bile precizne i razlikovale su se od mesta do mesta. Nisu samo različite oblasti koristile različite mere. Takođe su imale i sasvim različite sisteme brojeva. Do kasnog srednjeg veka, hindu-arapski decimalni sistem uglavnom je zamenio rimske brojeve i razlomke u Evropi, ali nastojanja učenjaka poput Džona Vilkinsa ka promovisanju standardnih mera zasnovanih na decimali imala su manje uspeha. Sa četvrt miliona različitih jedinica samo u Francuskoj, svaka raširena promena zahtevala bi veliko remećenje, a 1789. godine je to remećenje nastupilo. Predvodnici Francuske revolucije nisu samo srušili monarhiju. Težili su potpunom preobražaju društva u skladu sa racionalnim principima prosvetiteljstva. Kada je nova vlada preuzela moć, sazvana je Akademija nauka da bi reformisala merni sistem. Stari standardi zasnovani na proizvoljnom autoritetu ili lokalnim tradicijama zamenjeni su matematičkim i prirodnim odnosima. Na primer, metar, od grčke reči za meru, definisan je kao 1/10 000 000 između ekvatora i Severnog pola. Novi metrički sistem je bio, rečima Markiza de Kondorseta: „Za sve ljude, za sva vremena.“ Standardizovanje mera takođe je imalo političke prednosti za revolucionariste. Plemstvo više nije moglo manipulisati lokalnim jedinicama da bi izvuklo više kirije od običnih građana, dok je vlada mogla da sakuplja porez efikasnije. Prelaženje na novi republikanski kalendar sa nedeljama od deset dana umanjilo je moć crkve time što je uklonilo nedelje. Usvajanje ovog novog sistema nije bilo lako. Zapravo, pomalo je bilo haotično. U početku, ljudi su koristili nove mere uporedo sa starima i republikanski kalendar je na kraju odbačen. Kada je Napoleon Bonaparta preuzeo moć, dozvolio je malim poslovima da koriste tradicionalne mere iznova definisane u metričkim terminima. Međutim, metrički sistem je ostao standard u formalnoj upotrebi i proneo se širom kontinenta, zajedno sa francuskim granicama. Dok je Napoleonovo carstvo trajalo osam godina, njegovo nasleđe je istrajalo znatno duže. Neke evropske zemlje su se vratile na stare mere po sticanju nezavisnosti. Druge su uvidele vrednost standardizacije u dobu međunarodne trgovine. Nakon što su se Portugalija i Holandija dobrovoljno prebacile na metrički sistem, druge nacije su ih sledile, dok su kolonijalna carstva širila sistem po celom svetu. Kao glavni protivnik Francuske, Britanija se odupirala revolucionarnim idejama i zadržala svoje tradicionalne jedinice. Međutim, tokom naredna dva veka, Britansko carstvo je polako pravilo prelaz, najpre odobrivši metrički sistem kao opcionu alternativu pre nego što ga je postepeno ozvaničila. Međutim, taj prelazak je nastupio prekasno za trinaest bivših kolonija koje su već stekle nezavisnost. Sjedinjene Američke Države su ostale pri engleskim merama kolonijalne prošlosti i danas ostaju jedna od svega tri zemlje koje nisu potpuno prihvatile metrički sistem. Uprkos stalnim inicijativama za prelaz na metrički sistem, mnogi Amerikanci smatraju jedinice poput stope i funte intuitivnijim. Ironično, neki smatraju nekada revolucionarni metrički sistem simbolom globalnog konformizma. Ipak, metrički sistem se koristi gotovo univerzalno u nauci i medicini i nastavlja da se razvija u skladu sa svojim izvornim principima. Dugo vremena, standardne jedinice su zapravo definisane pomoću brižljivo održavanih fizičkih prototipova. Međutim, zahvaljujući sve naprednijoj tehnologiji i preciznosti, ti objekti ograničenog pristupa i nepouzdane dugotrajnosti sada su zamenjeni standardima zasnovanim na univerzalnim konstantama, kao što je brzina svetlosti. Dosledne mere dotle predstavljaju sastavni deo našeg svakodnevnog života da je teško ceniti koliko su bili veliko postignuće za čovečanstvo. Baš kao što je proizašao iz političke revolucije, metrički sistem ostaje ključan za buduće naučne revolucije.