This is a system of units created by France in the late 18th century to standardize units of weights and measures internationally. As international trade became more active in the 18th century, there was a need to organize maps. Meanwhile, there was great confusion in weights and measures in European countries, and the need to reform the unit system was felt not only among scholars but also among all levels of society. The unification of weights and measures was also mentioned in a letter of opinion to the government from the Estates General, the general assembly of France, in 1789. In 1790, Talleyrand proposed to the National Assembly that the length of a pendulum that beats one second be used as the standard. This proposal was approved by the National Assembly on May 8, and the Academic Society of Paris was given the task of creating "a new system of units that could be adopted by any country" by government decree. The Institut des Sciences de Paris then established a committee consisting of Borda, Lagrange, Lavoisier, Chilet, and Condorcet, and after some deliberation, they decided to take one-fourth of the length of the Earth's meridian as the basis for the new unit system, measure it, and measure the mass of a known volume of distilled water at 0°C. This plan was approved by the National Assembly, and the Earth's meridian was measured between Dunkirk and Barcelona along a line passing through Paris. Jean-Baptiste Joseph Delambre (1749-1822) and Pierre François André Méchain (1744-1804) were in charge of the survey, and Lavoisier was in charge of measuring the density of water. However, the survey was delayed due to the deterioration of relations with Spain, and Lavoisier was executed during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution, and the work was not completed until 1798. The French government also asked for cooperation from the UK and the US to make the work international, but both were rejected. Therefore, the task of establishing the metric system was carried out solely by France. In parallel with this surveying work, a provisional metric system was created by Borda and others based on 1/40 million of the length of the earth's meridian measured by Lacaille in 1740, and was adopted by the National Assembly in 1793. This unit system was a decimal system with meters for length, ares for area, liters for volume, and grams (later kilograms) for weight (mass), and is the prototype of today's units. The names of the units are all derived from Greek and Latin, taking into consideration the national sentiment of each country. The new prototype based on the results of the measurements was made of platinum and stored in the Republic Archives in 1799. The metric system was essentially completed when the law based on this prototype was promulgated. The medal made to commemorate this is engraved with the words "For all times, for all people." However, the spread of the system was slow, and in 1812 Napoleon reverted to the old system, furthering the confusion. However, after January 1840, unification was back on track with a decree banning the use of other units, and other countries such as Italy and the Netherlands adopted the system. In 1870, Napoleon III convened an international conference, which brought together 270 people from 24 countries, and a resolution was made on the establishment of a new prototype and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. At the International Metric Conference in 1872, detailed agreements were made on the basis of the Metre Treaty. In March 1875, a conference of metric diplomats was held, and the Metre Treaty was finally decided in May. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures was located in the palace built by Louis XIV in Sèvres, a suburb of Paris, and was handed over to the International Committee for Weights and Measures in October 1875. Many new prototypes were completed in 1888, the international prototypes were decided, and prototypes were distributed to each country. In 1921, the treaty was revised to include units of quantity other than weights and measures, which became necessary due to the development of science, in the metric system. However, from around this time, the metric system also began to split into several unit systems, and in order to unify them again after World War II, the International System of Units (SI) was decided in 1960. [Koizumi Kesakatsu and Imai Hidetaka] [Reference items] | | | | |Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend |
18世紀の末期、度量衡の単位を国際的に統一するためフランスがつくりあげた単位系。18世紀に入ると国際貿易が盛んになり、また地図を整える必要が生じてきた。その一方ヨーロッパ諸国の度量衡の混乱は甚だしく、単位系を改革することの必要性は、学者間にはもちろん、一般社会の各層にも感じられるようになっていた。1789年のフランス全国の総議会である三部会の政府に対する意見書にも、度量衡の統一があげられている。1790年にはタレーランが国民議会に、一秒打ちの振り子の長さを基準にすることを提案している。この案は5月8日国民議会に承認され、政令により「いかなる国でも採用できる新しい単位系」を創設する任務がパリ科学学士院に与えられた。 そこでパリ科学学士院はボルダ、ラグランジュ、ラボアジエ、チレー、コンドルセらによる委員会を設けて検討した結果、新単位系の基礎として地球子午線長の4分の1をとり、その実測を行うこと、および0℃における既知体積の蒸留水の質量の測定を行うことなどを決定した。この案は国民議会によって承認され、地球子午線の測量は、パリを通る線に沿ってダンケルクとバルセロナ間を実測することとし、ドランブルJean-Baptiste Joseph Delambre(1749―1822)とメシャンPierre François André Méchain(1744―1804)があたり、水の密度の測定はラボアジエがあたって作業が開始された。しかし測量はスペインとの関係が悪化して延引し、ラボアジエはフランス革命の恐怖政治のなか死刑に処されたことなどにより、作業が終わったのは1798年であった。またフランス政府は、この作業を国際的なものにするためイギリスとアメリカに協力を呼びかけたが、いずれからも拒否された。したがってメートル法の設定作業はフランスが単独で行ったのである。この測量作業と併行して、1740年ラカイユの測定による地球子午線長の4000万分の1を基礎にした暫定メートル法がボルダなどによってつくられ、1793年国民議会によって採択された。この単位系は十進法で、長さにメートル、面積にアール、体積にリットル、重量(質量)にグラム(のちにはキログラム)をとり、今日のものの原型になっている。単位の名称は各国の国民感情を考慮して、すべてギリシア語とラテン語によっている。 実測の結果に基づいた新原器は白金でつくられ1799年共和国文書保管所に納められ、この原器による法令が公布されて、メートル法は実質的に完成した。これを記念してつくられたメダルには「すべての時代に、すべての人々に」と刻まれている。 しかしその普及は遅々として進まず、1812年にはナポレオンが旧に復して混乱を助長したが、1840年1月以後は他系の単位を禁止する法令によって統一は軌道にのり、その後イタリア、オランダなど他国にも採用されるようになった。そこで1870年ナポレオン3世が国際会議を招集したところ、24か国270名が集まり、ここで新しい原器や国際度量衡局の設置に関する決議が行われ、ついで1872年のメートル法国際会議で、メートル条約の前提となる詳細な取決めが行われた。さらに1875年3月にメートル法外交官会議が開かれ、5月にメートル条約の最終的な決定をみた。国際度量衡局にはパリ郊外セーブルのルイ14世の建てた宮殿があてられ、1875年10月国際度量衡委員会に引き渡された。 新しい多数の原器は1888年に完成し、国際原器が決定され、各国原器が配布された。1921年には条約が改正され、科学の発展によって必要となった度量衡以外の量の単位もメートル法に含めて扱うようになった。しかしこのころからメートル法もいくつかの単位系に分かれるようになり、第二次世界大戦後これらをふたたび統一するため、1960年国際単位系(SI)が決議された。 [小泉袈裟勝・今井秀孝] [参照項目] | | | | |出典 小学館 日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について 情報 | 凡例 |
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