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How was a meter defined in 1791?

Updated: 12/15/2022
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In the eighteenth century, there were two favoured approaches to the definition of the meter. One approach suggested that the metre be defined as the length of a 'seconds pendulum' (pendulum with a half-period of one second). Another suggestion was defining the metre as one ten-millionth of the length of the Earth's meridian along a quadrant (the distance from the Equator to the North Pole).

In 1791, the French Academy of Sciences selected the latter definition (the one related to Earth's meridian) over the former (the one with the pendulum) because the force of gravity varies slightly over the surface of the Earth's surface, which affects the period of a pendulum.

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Q: How was a meter defined in 1791?
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How was lenght of a standard meter defined in the year 1791?

by the demension of the planet earth


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What was the length of a meter in the year 1791?

The meter was invented in 1791. As being 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the North Pole to the equator.


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the meter is defined as the basic unit of the metric unit.


How was the length of a standard meter defined in the year 1791?

In 1791, the standard meter was defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the equator to the North Pole along a meridian passing through Paris. This definition was based on the measurements made by French astronomers Delambre and Méchain during the survey of the French meridian.


How was meter first defined?

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When did the word meter become used as a measurement term?

It was established in 1791.


What country calculated the meter?

France calculated the meter. The meter was first defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole, through Paris. This definition was adopted by the French Academy of Sciences in 1791.


The meter is defined as?

A meter is currently defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1 / 299,792,458 of a second.


Why is a meter a meter long?

A meter is defined as the distance travelled by light in free space in 1/299,792,458th of a second.


Why do scientists keep revising the definition of the meter?

As scientists study new areas the meter is involved in these new areas and new definitions in terms of the new areas are defined. The original meter was defined in terms of the earth studies, as electricity was studied, the speed of light became important and the meter was defined in terms of the speed of light. As science expands the definitions of the meter will expand.


How was the length of the standard meter defined defined in the year 1791?

The metre was originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the north pole running through Paris (making the distance from the equator to the north pole 10,000 km and the circumference of the earth 40,000 km [round that great circle]). It has since been redefined