Why does the meter beat the second?

dc.creatorAgnoli, P.
dc.creatorD'Agostini, G.
dc.date2004-12-14
dc.date2005-01-25
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T05:53:40Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T05:53:40Z
dc.descriptionThe French Academy units of time and length - the second and the meter - are traditionally considered independent from each other. However, it is a matter of fact that a meter simple pendulum beats virtually the second in each oscillation, a `surprising' coincidence that has no physical reason. We shortly review the steps that led to the choice of the meter as the ten millionth part of the quadrant of the meridian, and rise the suspicion that, indeed, the length of the seconds pendulum was in fact the starting point in establishing the actual length of the meter.
dc.description29 pages, 1 figure. Browsable version, Italian summary and useful links are available at http://www.roma1.infn.it/~dagos/history/sm/
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0412078
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0412078
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/86730
dc.subjectHistory and Philosophy of Physics
dc.subjectPhysics Education
dc.titleWhy does the meter beat the second?
dc.typetext

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