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| | [[File:5 metres (8349446738) (2).jpg|thumb|right|This giraffe is nearly five metres tall.]] | | [[File:5 metres (8349446738) (2).jpg|thumb|right|This giraffe is nearly five metres tall.]] |
| − | A '''metre''' (US spelling, ''meter'') is the basic [[units of measurement|unit]] of [[length]] in the [[SI]] measurement system. The [[symbol]] for the metre is '''m'''. The first meaning (in the [[French Revolution]]) was one ten-millionth of the [[distance]] between the [[Earth]]'s [[equator]] and the [[North Pole]] along the [[Paris]] [[meridian]].<ref name=NIST>{{cite web|url=http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/meter.html|title=Historical context of the SI|publisher=US Government - National Institute of Standards and Technology}}</ref> The metre is now defined as the [[distance]] [[light]] travels in a [[vacuum]] in 1/299,792,458 of a [[second]].<ref name=NIST/>
| + | The '''metre''' (British spelling) or '''meter''' (American spelling) (symbol: '''m''') is the basic [[units of measurement|unit]] of [[length]] in the [[SI]] measurement system. The [[symbol]] for the metre is '''m'''. The first meaning (in the [[French Revolution]]) was one ten-millionth of the [[distance]] between the [[Earth]]'s [[equator]] and the [[North Pole]] along the [[Paris]] [[meridian]].<ref name=NIST>{{cite web|url=http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/meter.html|title=Historical context of the SI|publisher=US Government - National Institute of Standards and Technology}}</ref> The metre is now defined as the [[distance]] [[light]] travels in a [[vacuum]] in 1/299,792,458 of a [[second]].<ref name=NIST/> |
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| | In the [[Imperial unit|imperial]] system of measurement, one yard is 0.9144 metres (after international agreement in 1959), so a metre is very near to 39.37 [[inch]]es: about 3.281 [[Foot (unit of length)|feet]], or 1.0936 [[US yard|yards]]. | | In the [[Imperial unit|imperial]] system of measurement, one yard is 0.9144 metres (after international agreement in 1959), so a metre is very near to 39.37 [[inch]]es: about 3.281 [[Foot (unit of length)|feet]], or 1.0936 [[US yard|yards]]. |
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| | [[File:Platinum-Iridium meter bar.jpg|thumb|right|The bar (made of [[platinum]] and [[iridium]]) that defined the length of a metre until 1960.]] | | [[File:Platinum-Iridium meter bar.jpg|thumb|right|The bar (made of [[platinum]] and [[iridium]]) that defined the length of a metre until 1960.]] |
| | == Units multiples == | | == Units multiples == |
| | + | *0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 Qm (quettametre) = 1 m |
| | + | * 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 Rm (ronnametre) = 1 m |
| | * 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 Ym (yotametre) = 1 m | | * 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 Ym (yotametre) = 1 m |
| | * 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 001 Zm (zetametre) = 1 m | | * 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 001 Zm (zetametre) = 1 m |
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| | * 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 zm (zeptometres) = 1 m | | * 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 zm (zeptometres) = 1 m |
| | * 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 ym (yoctometres) = 1 m | | * 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 ym (yoctometres) = 1 m |
| | + | *10^27 rm (rontometre) |
| | + | *10^30 qm (quettametre) |
| | == Related pages == | | == Related pages == |
| | *[[Metre Convention]] | | *[[Metre Convention]] |