Measuring and Calibration
The International System of Units (SI) is the modern metric system used globally for precise measurement. It defines seven base units (meter, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, and candela) from which all other units are derived. These units are universal, coherent, and based on fundamental physical constants. By adopting SI units, a post-collapse society can restore scientific progress, fair trade, and efficient resource management, laying the groundwork for sustainable development.
Useful things to note
Distance: the meter
The meter is described to be roughly the length of a walking step, using the more precise definition of the distance light can travel in 1/(299,792,458) seconds. This comes out to be roughly 3.33564095E-9 seconds
To approximate the meter, several methods exist:
- a second-pendulum: by suspending a mass from a length of one meter
Mass: the kilogram
Time: the second
The second is historically defined through the duration of the day. One day is divided into 24 hours, which are first divided into 60 minutes which are in turn divided into 60 second each.
- 1 day = 24 hours, 1 hour = 60 minutes, 1 minute = 60 seconds.
More recently the second has been redefined as a number of vibrations of the cesium element, but in everyday life this definition does not have practical use.
Electric current: the ampere
Temperature: the kelvin
Quantity: the mole
Light: the candela
Useful sub-units
Frequency: number of occurrences per second
Force: mass x displacement over time
Pressure: force over surface
Energy