Measurement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Measurement - Essay Example neers observe measurements, why measurements are much needed in the world, the role of measurements in quality control, and different type of measurements techniques used in engineering will be discussed. The term â€Å"measurement† is derived from the Greek word metron which means limited proportion. The first measurement systems were astronomical objects. Babylonians and Egyptians are believed to have invented use of measurement. However, they mainly used comparisons to measure things. For example, they would compare capacity of containers by filling the smaller container and emptying it into the bigger one to measure the volumes (Manseau & Shields, 2005). However, Gabriel Mouton, who was an astronomer, invented the metric system. He also suggested the swing length of pendulum, which is used as a unit of measuring length. In engineering and construction, there are different metric systems depending on what is being measured. For example, construction materials that are in liquid form are measured using measures such as gallons and liters. In case of length, units such as inches, meters, and feet are used depending on the size being measured. While measuring mass, unit such as pounds, kilograms, and grams are applied (Manseau & Shields, 2005). Although scientists make use of standardized metric units, there are two different types of metric systems. The type of metric system being used depends on the application. When measuring small units of length or mass, engineers make use of the CGS (centimeter-gram-second) system. However, MKS (meter-kilogram-second) system is used while measuring large quantities (Manseau & Shields, 2005). With globalization, metric system is becoming widely acceptable worldwide though some countries such as United States are resistant to switch to the metric system. US makes use of a mixture of different systems of measurement. In 1960, the General Conference of Weights and Measures revised and simplified the measurement system. Seven