Abstract
“W. M. W.” seems to regard units of mass and force as things which are to be talked and philosophised about, rather than to be actually used for the measurement of concrete qualities. It is true that the force of gravity on a standard pound at a specified locality is a definite unit of force; but instead of specifying a locality to which reference is by common consent to be made (and without which consent we shall have as many different units as there are localities), he says, “The assumption of a hypothetical force of gravity not dependent on latitude seems to stand on the same footing as the employment of a mean solar day.”
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EVERETT, J. Measurement of Mass and Force. Nature 3, 345–346 (1871). https://doi.org/10.1038/003345b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/003345b0
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