Bryanskiy L.

Metrology, its formation and development is one of the general laws, formation signs and development of any human civilization. The present article contains detailed facts proving the close correlation between these two concepts.

The present article is devoted to the history of Russian metrology starting from the times of the first regulations by Prince Vladimir to the foundation of All- Russia D.I. Mendeleyev Scientific and Research Institute for Metrology (VNIIM). You will get to know about the place and time when the first specialized metrological institute in the world was founded, how the metric system was introduced in Russia and who made a valuable contribution to the development of metrology.

Usually measurement methodology is associated with State System for Ensuring Uniform Measurement, which in very details describes what is measured and which methods and steps should be taken to get the exact results. But it’s quite wrong to suppose that such methodology has recently appeared. Generally speaking, it throws back to ancientry when people had their own ways to measure things. The present interesting and detailed article includes examples of measurement methodologies of the centuries B.C. up to nowadays.

What put the beginning of the development of such exact sciences like mathematics, geometry, astronomy, chemistry etc.? And why are they so connected with metrology? All exact sciences are based on different concepts and suppositions that were put forward centuries ago and after that taken as so-called standards, the basis. Considering the definition of metrology term - it is a science about measurements compared to standards. May this be evidence of the connection between metrology and such sciences? The author of this article shares various facts which can prove such connection.

The expression «cut the Gordian knot» means to find a non-trivial, bold and simple solution to a complex, confusing issue. It is unlikely that someone could say how many Gordian knots arose in practical metrology, especially in the development of national standards of units and scales of measurement. Each «know-how» — proposed and implemented – is another Gordian knot untied. The author tells about these «knots» in this article.