If scientists had sacred objects, this would be one of them: a single, closely guarded 137-year-old cylinder of metal, housed in a vault outside of Paris. It is a prototype that precisely defines a ...

What unit of measurement should be used for specific reports? Whether printing out a check register or calculating square footage, using the correct team is essential. A size mistake can lead to ...

Taking the first steps of what would be a major historical advance in the science of measurement, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology is participating in a worldwide effort to ...

If you’re from the US or are trying to understand American units of measure, there’s now an easier way to do that with Uniter. This is a new iPhone app that can convert measurements in real-time in ...

Balancing act The two systems of measurement – imperial and metric – are often used together in UK shops. (Courtesy: iStock/Paolo Paradiso) When I was at primary school in the 1960s, measurements were ...

In the age of big data, it is time to ensure that units are routinely documented for easy, unambiguous exchange of information. Robert Hanisch is the director of the Office of Data and Informatics at ...

The Imperial Measurement System, originated in Britain in 1824, is now primarily used by only three countries: the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar. Defined by non-decimal units like inches, pounds ...

In the biggest overhaul of the international system of units since 1875, countries have voted to redefine four basic units of measurement — the ampere, the kilogram, the kelvin and the mole. At a ...

I was at the supermarket recently when I took note of something my eyes had passed thousands of times before. The cans of my favorite sodas were 12 ounces, while the bottles were 2 liters. It caught ...