Why the metric system matters - Matt Anticole

譯者: Helen Chang 審譯者: Ann Chen

What does the French Revolution

法國大革命和美國太空總署

have to do with the time NASA accidentally crashed a $200 million orbiter

價值兩億美元的人造衛星 意外墜毀於火星表面的事件

into the surface of Mars?

有什麼關聯呢？

Actually, everything.

實際上，息息相關。

That crash happened due to an error

那起墜毀事件源自

in converting between two measurement systems,

兩個度量衡之間的轉換錯誤。

U.S. customary units

從美國慣用單位

and their S.I, or metric, equivalence.

轉換為公制單位。

So what's the connection to the French Revolution?

到底它與法國大革命有何關聯呢？

Let's explain.

且聽我細說。

For the majority of recorded human history,

自人類有史以來的大部份時間，

units like the weight of a grain or the length of a hand weren't exact

單位並不很精確 ──例如穀粒的重量、手的長度──

and varied from place to place.

且因地而異。

And different regions didn't just use varying measurements.

不僅各地的度量衡不同，

They had completely different number systems as well.

數字系統也各不相同。

By the late Middle Ages, the Hindu-Arabic decimal system

在中世紀後期之前， 印度—阿拉伯的十進制系統

mostly replaced Roman numerals and fractions in Europe,

幾乎完全取代歐洲的 羅馬數字和分數；

but efforts by scholars like John Wilkins to promote standard decimal-based measures

但是，由約翰·威金斯等學者 所倡導的十進制度量衡

were less successful.

並沒那麼成功。

With a quarter million different units in France alone,

僅法國一地， 就有 25 萬種不同的單位，

any widespread change would require massive disruption.

大破大立，需大破才能全面地改革。

And in 1789, that disruption came.

大破發生於 1789 年。

The leaders of the French Revolution didn't just overthrow the monarchy.

法國大革命的領袖不只推翻帝制，

They sought to completely transform society

還根據啟蒙運動尊崇理性的原則， 試圖全面改造社會。

according to the rational principles of the Enlightenment.

When the new government took power,

新政府掌權後，

the Academy of Sciences convened to reform the system of measurements.

科學院召開院會改革度量衡系統。

Old standards based on arbitrary authority or local traditions

根據專制威權或地方傳統的舊制，

were replaced with mathematical and natural relationships.

被具有數學和自然關係的 新制所取代。

For example, the meter, from the Greek word for measure,

例如「公尺」 ──在希臘語是「測量」之意──

was defined as 1/10,000,000 between the Equator and North Pole.

被定義為赤道和北極之間 距離的一千萬分之一。

And the new metric system was, in the words of the Marquis de Condorcet,

而馬奎斯·孔多塞宣稱 新的公制是「全人類的，永遠的。」

"For all people, for all time."

Standardizing measurements had political advantages

量測標準化對革命者也有政治利益。

for the Revolutionaries as well.

Nobles could no longer manipulate local units to extract more rent from commoners,

貴族再也無法 操縱地方的度量衡單位，

向平民收取更多的租金，

while the government could collect taxes more efficiently.

而政府收稅也更有效率了。

And switching to a new Republican Calendar with ten-day weeks

使用一星期有 10 天的共和曆，

reduced church power by eliminating Sundays.

因去掉星期天而削弱了教會的勢力。

Adoption of this new system wasn't easy.

採用新制並不容易。

In fact, it was a bit of a mess.

事實上，搞得有些亂。

At first, people used new units alongside old ones,

一開始，人們採新舊制並用；

and the Republican Calendar was eventually abandoned.

後來，共和曆被棄用了。

When Napoléon Bonaparte took power,

拿破崙·波拿巴掌權後，

he allowed small businesses to use traditional measurements

允許小企業使用 以公制重新定義的傳統度量衡。

redefined in metric terms.

But the metric system remained standard for formal use,

公制仍是官方正式的度量衡，

and it spread across the continent, along with France's borders.

隨著法國領土擴張， 散播到整個歐洲大陸。

While Napoléon's empire lasted eight years,

雖然拿破崙的帝國只歷時八年，

its legacy endured far longer.

但它的建樹影響得更久遠。

Some European countries reverted to old measurements upon independence.

有些歐洲國家在獨立後改回舊制；

Others realized the value of standardization

其他的則體認到 標準化在國際貿易時代的好處。

in an age of international trade.

After Portugal and the Netherlands switched to metric voluntarily,

在葡萄牙和荷蘭 自願轉換為公制之後，

other nations followed,

其他國家紛紛效法；

with colonial empires spreading the system around the world.

隨後跟著殖民帝國的勢力， 公制散佈到世界各地。

As France's main rival,

法國的主要競爭對手英國

Britain had resisted revolutionary ideas and retained its traditional units.

抵制這個革新的想法， 仍然使用其傳統的單位。

But over the next two centuries, the British Empire slowly transitioned,

但在接下來的兩個世紀中， 大英帝國逐漸轉變，

first approving the metric system as an optional alternative

先是允許公制做為替代單位，

before gradually making it offical.

慢慢地變成官方正式單位。

However, this switch came too late for thirteen former colonies

但對已獨立的 13 個前殖民地而言， 這個轉換來得太晚了，

that had already gained independence.

The United States of America stuck with the English units of its colonial past

美國繼續延用 其殖民時期的英制單位，

and today remains one of only three countries

是今日世上僅有的三個

which haven't fully embraced the metric system.

尚未全面改為公制的國家之一。

Despite constant initiatives for metrication,

儘管十進制的倡議未曾間斷過，

many Americans consider units like feet and pounds more intuitive.

許多美國人仍認為 用英尺和英鎊比較直觀。

And ironically, some regard the once revolutionary metric system

諷刺的是，現在某些人 視過去革命性的公制

as a symbol of global conformity.

為全球一致性的象徵。

Nevertheless, the metric system is almost universally used in science and medicine,

儘管如此，公制系統 被普遍用於科學和醫學，

and it continues to evolve according to its original principles.

並持續依其最初的原則而進化。

For a long time,

長久以來，

standard units were actually defined by carefully maintained physical prototypes.

標準單位是依被精心維護的 實體樣品來定義，

But thanks to improving technology and precision,

由於技術和精確度的改進，

these objects with limited access and unreliable longevity

這些不易取用、壽命有限的物體

are now being replaced with standards based on universal constants,

現已被以通用常數 為依據的標準所取代，

like the speed of light.

例如光速。

Consistent measurements are such an integral part of our daily lives

一致的測量是我們日常生活中 不可或缺的一部分，

that it's hard to appreciate what a major accomplishment for humanity they've been.

很難體會到它對人類 有如此大的成果。

And just as it arose from a political revolution,

公制始於政治革命，

the metric system remains crucial for the scientific revolutions to come.

它對未來的科學革命至關重要。