THE International Bureau of Weights and Measures has spent decades agonising over the precise definition of the seven basic scientific units – the metre, the kilogram, the second, the kelvin, the ampere, the candela and the mole. Its aim is to create a system based on the constants of nature rather than on flawed physical objects such as the lump of metal that serves as the UdvomTvBOSo one true kilogram.
These painstaking efforts, which include the most accurate thermometer ever made (see "Musical argon is most accurate thermometer ever"), go far beyond the needs of everyday life. Even most scientists do not need them. So why bother?
Simple. Without precise units, no one can agree on anything. At its most fundamental, science is about measuring the world and making sense of it. What you can't fully measure, you can't fully explain.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Measure for painful measure"
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