Science Spectrum is here to guide you on your personal path to understanding the fascinating world of science, mathematics, and related topics. Our goal is to make complex concepts accessible to everyone. We are happy to be a member of the Medium Boost family!
Member-only story
Featured
Are Radians Real?
A Strange Tale of Units
Units are critical for any scientific project. The difference between 1 milliliter of poison and 1 gallon of poison is extremely important. I was always frustrated in school when I’d lose points on my homework for forgetting to include units. But now that I’m a scientist, I see how important they are. In fact, a NASA mission to land the Mars Climate Orbiter on Mars failed due to a mistake in unit conversions.
The units used by scientists are dictated by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures located in Saint-Cloud, France. They maintain a standard system of units, SI units, that are supposed to be used around the world. This organization is absolutely fascinating. They are responsible for handling units used by all disciplines of science everywhere! This is an immense reponsibility and lots of cool science happsn here. They used to have physical objects that served as the official meter and the official kilogram.
