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A short history of distance

  • Measure for Measure
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Units of length have come a long way: from countless local variants to standardized measures. Peter Sidaway looks back at some milestones.

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References

  1. Larousse, P. Grand Dictionnaire Universel du XIXe Siècle 11, 163–164 (Larousse & Boyer, 1874); https://go.nature.com/3rNKaMo

  2. Weights and Measures Act 1824 Legislation.gov.uk; https://go.nature.com/3g2l2P2

  3. Sears, J. E., Johnson, W. H. & Jolly, H. L. P. Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. A 227, 281–315 (1928).

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  4. Research Highlights of the National Bureau of Standards (US Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, 1959).

  5. Badshah, N. Boris Johnson to reportedly bring back imperial measurements to mark platinum jubilee. The Guardian (May 2022); https://go.nature.com/3TfR9ZV

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  1. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology https://www.nature.com/nrclinonc

    Peter Sidaway

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  1. Peter Sidaway
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Correspondence to Peter Sidaway.

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Sidaway, P. A short history of distance. Nat. Phys. 18, 1380 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01817-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01817-3

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