Ken Alder: The Measure of All Things

The Measure of All Things



____________________________
Author: Ken Alder
Number of Pages: 480 pages
Published Date: 03 Jun 2004
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Publication Country: London, United Kingdom
Language: English
ISBN: 9780349115078
Download Link: Click Here
____________________________

download epub, free ebook, download book, paperback, epub download, download ebook, for mac, download torrent, free pdf, ebook pdf, paperback The Measure of All Things by Ken Alder pocket,fb2, pocket, Read online, Ken Alder kindle,kindle, facebook, iPhone, zip, download pdf, rarebook, The Measure of All Things iOS,book review, download epub, iOS, for PC, mobi, iPad,

Description

THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS tells the story of how science, revolutionary politics, and the dream of a new economy converged to produce both the metric system and the first struggle over globalization. Amidst the scientific fervor of the Revolution two French scientists, Delambre and Mechain, were sent out on an expedition to measure the shape of the world and thereby establish the metre (which was to be one ten-millionth the distance from pole to equator). Their hope was that people would use the globe as the basis of measure rather than an arbitrary system meted out by the monarchs. As one scientist went north along the French meridian and the other south, their experiences diverged just as radically. After seven years, they received a hero's welcome upon their return to Paris. Mechain, however, was obsessed over a minute error in his calculations that he'd discovered and concealed, and which eventually drove him to his grave. His death forced his colleague Delambre to choose between loyalty to his friend and his science.