Before measuring something, it is important to know which unit to use. Estimating its approximate size by comparing it with a more familiar object can help. In order to find a suitable unit of measure ...

Though you’ve likely never given it much thought, a universally accepted unit of measurement like the humble meter is an amazing thing. It lets scientists separated by culture, language, race and even ...

When someone tells you they'll be "back in two shakes!" they are guaranteed to take much, much longer than that — at least if we're talking shakes in the sense used by physicists. The shake is a unit ...

One of the biggest honors a scientist can receive is to become the namesake of a unit of measurement — a fitting reward if they’re the ones who discovered what’s being measured in the first place.

Scientists are preparing to redefine the fundamental unit of time. It won’t get any longer or shorter, but it will be more precise — and a whole lot more powerful. By Alanna Mitchell Modern ...

There are things in the world that are too small to perceive directly, but that doesn’t mean we can’t measure them. Here are 11 teeny units of measurement used to describe tiny things. When someone ...