Passage
THE SPREAD OF THE METRIC SYSTEM
(1)
Careful measurement and human progress are inextricably linked. Experience demonstrates that common standards and precise instruments are compatible 1 with and supportive of steady scientific advancement. Engineers and merchants alike work more confidently when a single unit means the same thing in every workshop. This link between careful measurement and shared understanding 2 are enshrined, together with a commitment to uniformity, in the Metre Convention's Preamble, 3 that names one coherent system of units as a basic goal of modern science. In adopting this system, despite some 4 reservations— the signatory nations formally agreed that measurement and the 5 uniformity the Convention helps creating must be maintained across borders, an ideal that unites commerce, industry, and research. 6 Accuracy, consistency, and convenience are practical benefits valued by every modern society. 7 And the record of the past century clearly shows how a common standard has helped nations reach some of these goals.
(2)
[1] Since 1875, more than sixty nations have adopted the metric system, and older local units of measure 8 has also been steadily abandoned. [2] Moreover, a precise new definition of the meter was widely accepted 9 upon concluding the reforms of the mid-twentieth century. [3] Thus, since 1875 the membership has grown more than threefold; laboratory measurements have become vastly more precise; and collaborative research has expanded into nearly every field of science. [4] 10 However, has the metric system truly become the world's single standard? A few governments have yet to provide a clear answer. 11
(3)
In explaining the purpose of a universal standard, 12 the founding delegates of 1875, "we must give every nation one system of units that any observer can confirm by measurement, so that later generations may adjust each unit to 13 our own needs." Have any laws been enacted to make the metric system mandatory? Taking into account national statutes, international treaties, and everyday commercial practice, historians have found that 14 metric usage is not yet a legal requirement in every nation. In much of the world, it remains a strong convention rather than a binding requirement. This tendency to treat so practical a standard as merely a recommendation has left the promise of one truly universal measure only partly fulfilled. 15
