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Toward The Metrication Of The United States

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Toward the Metrication of the United States The United States was founded on the ideologies of originality and independence from extraneous authority. To many, America is more than just a country, it is the land of the free and is a light in the darkness from the rest of the world. This inspiration has served Americans well throughout the past, but provides a reason to be reluctant to try successful ideas from foreign countries. The reluctance of accepting the metric system is the prominent example of the country’s stubbornness to change its views. The switch to the metric system in the United States is more than just a proposal to be pushed aside, it is a necessity to survive in the changing market. College students are the next …show more content…

In all cases, the increase of ten to the power of three causes the prefix to become “kilo”. This simplification increases efficiency and allows for much easier calculations.

History of the metric system. In order for the younger generation to push for the switch to the metric system in the United States, they must have some background knowledge on how the metric system came about. According to the U.S. Metric Association, the founding father of the metric system is Gabriel Mouton of France. He first thought of a system of measurements based on decimals in 1670. The system was first based on a nautical mile and also the length of a pendulum needed to swing at one swing per second. During the years following 1670, numerous French scientists edited and made improvements to the system. The metric system then became the official units of weights and measurements in France on April 7, 1795 (Origin of the Metric System). When France decided to adopt the metric system, this served as a catalyst for the adoption in the rest of the world. After France became the first country to adopt these measurements, other countries started to notice that the metric system was well suited for science and industrialization, so they decided to adopt the measurements as well. To no surprise, the change caught on quickly. According to the U.S. Metric association, “By 1900 a total of 35 nations, including the major nations of continental

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