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001    49699440 
003    OCoLC 
005    20031111094109.0 
008    020420s2002    nyua     b    001 0 eng  cam4a  
010    2002070267 
020    074321675X 
040    DLC|cDLC|dIG#|dXY4|dWSL 
042    pcc 
049    VCNA 
050 00 QB291|b.A43 2002 
050 00 QB291|b.A43 2002 
082 00 526/.1|221 
100 1  Alder, Ken. 
245 14 The measure of all things :|bthe seven-year odyssey and 
       hidden error that transformed the world /|cKen Alder. 
260    New York :|bFree Press,|cc2002. 
300    x, 422 p. :|bill. (some col.) ;|c25 cm. 
504    Includes bibliographical references (p. 397-400) and 
       index. 
505 0  North-going astronomer -- South-going astronomer -- Metric
       of revolution -- Castle of Mont-Jouy -- Calculating people
       -- Fear of France -- Convergence -- Triangulation -- 
       Empire of science -- Broken arc -- Mechain's mistake, 
       Delambre's peace -- Metered globe -- Epilogue: Shape of 
       our world. 
520    In June 1792, the erudite and cosmopolitan Jean-Baptiste-
       Joseph Delambre and the cautious and scrupulous Pierre-
       Francois-Andre Mechain set out from Paris -- one north to 
       Dunkirk, the other south to Barcelona to calculate the 
       length of the meter.  In the face of death threats from 
       village revolutionary councils, superstitious peasants, 
       and civil war, they had only their wits and their letters 
       to each other for support.  Their findings would be used 
       to create what we now know as the metric system.  Despite 
       their painstaking and Herculean efforts, Mechain made a 
       mistake in his calculations that he covered up.  The 
       guilty knowledge of his error drove him to the brink of 
       madness, and in the end, he died in an attempt to correct 
       himself.  Only then was his mistake discovered.  Delambre 
       decided to seal all evidence of the error in a vault at 
       the Paris Observatory.  Two hundred year later, historian 
       Ken Alder discovered the truth.  With scintillating prose 
       and wry wit, Alder uses these previously overlooked 
       letters, diaries, and journals to bring to life a 
       remarkable time when everything was open to question and 
       the light of reason made every dream seem possible. 
600 10 Delambre, J. B. J.|q(Jean Baptiste Joseph),|d1749-1822. 
600 10 Méchain, Pierre,|d1744-1804. 
650  0 Arc measures|xHistory. 
650  0 Meter (Unit)|xHistory. 
856 41 |zTable of contents|uhttp://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/
       fy034/2002070267.html 
994    E0|bVCN 
LOCATION CALL # STATUS
 General Collection  QB291 .A43 2002    AVAILABLE

Christopher Newport University | Paul and Rosemary Trible Library | Newport News, Virginia 23606  

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