Initially the traditional second of time equal to 1/86400 day was proposed as the base of the metric system, but this was changed in 1791 to base the meter on a decimal division of a measurement of the Earth, instead.
Mind blown. It's true, you have to start with something.
The quest to fully define the SI units with total precision has been a centuries-long one. It was only a few years ago that the kilogram was finally redefined using universal constants instead of being defined by a physical ball!
5 Comments
violetsoftness@piefed.blahaj.zone · 7 pts · 1y
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatch_Internet_Time
Swatch Internet Time is my favorite implementation of decimal time!
JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y
Mind blown. It's true, you have to start with something.
silverchase@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 1y
The quest to fully define the SI units with total precision has been a centuries-long one. It was only a few years ago that the kilogram was finally redefined using universal constants instead of being defined by a physical ball!
JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1y
Yep. The master-kilo that lived in a dusty Parisian cabinet, I love that anecdote.
silverchase@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1y
Might be useful once we metricate Earth's rotation and orbit