Body parts are not used as standard unit of measurement because length of palm and hand are different for different persons which causes error in measurement. Before we had precise standardized units of measure such as meters and feet lengths and even ocasionally volumes were reckoned based on the average dimensions of human body parts.
Chapter 1 Measurements In Chemistry Chemistry
Why body parts cannot be used as standard unit of measurement. The metric system was chiefly a product of french scientists in the wake of their nations own revolution in 1789. What an interesting post. The length of body parts varies between people therefore it would be imprecise to measure in those units because they are not. Another measurement that i use is an inch made by bending my ring finger into a tabletop shape. Devin johnston on january 21 2009 259 am. Related to the last point the french word for inch is pouce which also.
The reason units of measurement like these fell out of favor is that they vary from one person to the next so if you need accuracy or repeatability theyre not the best choice. This is a list of units of measure based on human body parts or the attributes or abilities of humans. Why the parts of the body cannot be used as as standard unit of length. It turns out for example that my personal cubit is 18375 inches 4667cm. Its important to keep in mind that the bodies of 99 percent of the worlds population dont follow these rules. Units of measurement in france before the french revolution this page was last edited on 18 may 2020 at 1226 utc.
A 7½ head figure in which the length of the head serves as a basic unit of measurement is the standard of proportions used in most realist schools and the one i taught my students in florence. In body based units of measurement at interesting thing of the day i listed a few such historical units of measure which can still come in handy for rough. Its fundamental unit of length was the meter which while similar to the yard used in the english system was actually rooted in something concrete namely one millionth of the distance from one of the earths poles to the equator. We all come somewhere close. It does not include derived units further unless they are also themselves human based. 10 responses to body parts as tools of measurement chris on january 21 2009 136 am.
Why cant we use an angul finger or mutthi fist as standard unit of measurement of length. I always was an overachiever.
Gallery of Why Body Parts Cannot Be Used As Standard Unit Of Measurement
