- Metre Convention
-
The Metric System was invented by the French Academy of Science at the request of The National Assembly of France. Metre Convention (also known as the Convention du Mètre in French, and the Treaty of the Meter in English) of May 20, 1875 is a treaty which established three international organizations to oversee the keeping of metric standards.[1] It was revised in 1921 by the 6th CGPM (Conférence générale des poids et mesures, or International Committee for Weights and Measures). In 1960, the system of units it established was renamed the "International System of Units" (Système international d'unités or SI).
The Convention created three main organizations, which are the General Conference on Weights and Measures (Conférence générale des poids et mesures or CGPM) - a meeting every four to six years of delegates from all member states; the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (Bureau international des poids et mesures or BIPM) - an international metrology centre at Sèvres in France; and the International Committee for Weights and Measures (Comité international des poids et mesures or CIPM) - an administrative committee which meets annually at the BIPM.[2]
Countries involved
There were originally 17 countries involved with this treaty. This number grew to 21 in 1900, 32 in 1950, 44 in 1975, 48 in 1997 and 49 in 2001. Since 2005, there are 51 Member States (with year of partnership between brackets):
Germany (1875) Argentina (1877) Australia (1947) Austria (1875) Belgium (1875) Brazil (1921) Belarus (2003) Bulgaria (1911) Cameroon (1970) Canada (1907) Chile (1908) The Republic of China (1977) Caribbean Community (2005) Antigua and Barbuda Barbados Belize Cuba Dominica Ecuador Estonia Guyana Grenada Saint Kitts and Nevis Santa Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Czech Republic (1922) North Korea (1982) South Korea (1959) Costa Rica (2004) Croatia (2005) Denmark (1875) Dominican Republic (1954) Egypt (1962) Slovakia (1922) Slovenia (2003) Spain (1875) United States (1878) Philippines (2002) Finland (1923) France (1875) Greece (2001) Hong Kong (2000) Hungary (1925) India (1957) Indonesia (1960) Iran (1975) Ireland (1925) Israel (1985) Italy (1875) Jamaica (2003) Japan (1885) Kazakhstan (2003) Kenya (2002) Latvia (2001) Lithuania (2001) Malta (2001) Malaysia (2001) Mexico (1890) New Zealand (1991) Norway (1875) Netherlands (1929) Panama (2003) Pakistan (1973) Peru (1975) Poland (1925) Portugal (1876) Romania (1884) Russian Federation (1875) South Africa (1964) Sweden (1875) Switzerland (1875) United Kingdom (1884) Serbia (1879) Singapore (1994) Thailand (1912) Taiwan (2002) Turkey (1875) Ukraine (2002) Uruguay (1908) Venezuela (1879) Vietnam (2003)
References
- ^ "BIPM - Metre Convention". Bipm.fr. http://www.bipm.fr/enus/1_Convention/foreword.html. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
- ^ "International System of Units (SI)". Eoearth.org. 2008-08-25. http://www.eoearth.org/article/International_System_of_Units_(SI). Retrieved 2011-09-26.
External links
Categories:- Measurement
- Systems of units
- 1875 in France
- 1875 treaties
- International law stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.