World in the Balance: The Historic Quest for an Absolute System of Measurement - Softcover

Crease, Robert P.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393343545 ISBN 13: 9780393343540

Verlag: WW Norton & Co, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

Book by Crease Robert P

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Críticas:

"Takes the seemingly mundane questions we unthinkingly ask dozens of times a day and reveals them to be thrillingly profound." -- Richard Panek, author of The 4% Universe "A colorful tale of global conquest driven by kings, revolutionaries, polyglots and privateers." -- Science News "[A] fascinating book." -- New Scientist "By any measure, this book is a delight." -- Natural History

Reseña del editor:

Millions of transactions each day depend on a reliable network of weights and measures. But achieving such a network was anything but easy, as Robert P. Crease, physicist and philosopher, demonstrates in this endlessly fascinating, always entertaining look at just how this international system evolved. From the link between musical pitch and distance in the dynasties of ancient China and the use of figurines to measure gold in West Africa to the creation of the French metric and British imperial systems, Crease takes readers along on one of history's greatest philosophical and scientific adventures.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: WW Norton & Co
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0393343545
• ISBN 13: 9780393343540
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Anzahl der Seiten: 320