Meridian arc of Delambre and Méchain

The meridian arc of Delambre and Méchain was a geodetic survey carried out by Jean-Baptiste Delambre and Pierre Méchain in 1792–1798 to measure an arc section of the Paris meridian between Dunkirk and Barcelona; it served as the basis for the original definition of the metre.[1]

See also

• History of the metre#Meridional definition
• Earth's circumference#Historical use in the definition of units of measurement
• Earth radius#History
• Meridian arc#17th and 18th centuries
• Metre#Meridional definition
• Paris meridian#The West Europe-Africa Meridian-arc

References

1. Alder, K. (2002). The Measure of All Things: The Seven-year Odyssey and Hidden Error that Transformed the World. Free Press. ISBN 978-0-7432-1675-3. Retrieved 2020-08-02.