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 ...

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 ...

Many measurement systems were developed as civilisation evolved. The imperial system is nothing if not quirky. Readers may recall that a rod, pole or perch equals 5½ yards or 16½ feet, with 40 rods to ...

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 ...

In prehistoric times, not much needed to be measured. You ate what you found and lived where you could. The advent of agriculture and civilization, however, necessitated a way for people to measure ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

When it comes to measuring things, there are some odd units of measurement out there. While measuring in feet is standard, there are many weirder ways to measure. Did you know a hand is a unit of ...

Using a state-of-the-art device for measuring mass, researchers have made their most precise determination yet of Planck's constant, an important value in science that will help to redefine the ...