There aren't many 136-year-old metal cylinders tucked away in Paris basements that can claim ... originally defined as a fraction of Earth’s meridian. What began as a revolutionary idea soon ...

There aren't many 136-year-old metal cylinders tucked away in Paris basements that can claim global fame. Yet "Prototype 35" – a shimmering iridium-platinum artefact – quietly changed the course of ...

Near the end of the 18th century, 1 meter was defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole along the Paris meridian, and 1 kilogram as the mass of one liter of ...

The next time you pick up a bag of spuds from the supermarket or fill up the car with petrol, you can thank a treaty signed 150 years ago for the metric system that underpins daily life.

The Deutsche Freiheits-Bibliothek (German Library of Burned Books) will be officially opened May 10 at 65 Boulevard Arago, Paris, its sponsors, Heinrich Mann, Lion Feuchtwanger, H.G. Wells ...

The new system tied length and mass to natural standards (the metre was originally one-forty-millionth of the Paris meridian, while the kilogram is the mass of a cubic decimetre of water), and it ...

Ritz Paris Le Comptoir is François Perret's signature patisserie-tea room, now on rue Cambon and rue de Sèvres. Two Parisian addresses for a sweet, chic and generous interlude, between elongated ...

To be read This week in Paris, from June 2 to 8, 2025: free or accessible outings Free museums and monuments on Sundays: the best deals for this June 1st in Paris and the Île-de-France region ...

In 1786, the watchmaker and mathematician known as Monsieur Rousseau installed a small bronze cannon in front of his shop, on the Paris meridian, topped with a magnifying glass. From May to October, ...

Browse the archives of all RFI Science & Technology articles, podcasts and videos since 2009 ...