The Metric system of measurement is used exclusively in Domebook. Metric linear measurement is a decimal system based on the circumference of the earth. Its fundamental unit is the meter, which is composed of 100 centimeters or 1000 millimeters. There is no correlation between it and the conventional U.S. system of linear measurement, which is based on things like the length of two barleycorns and the distance a Roman legionnaire could walk in one thousand paces.

Laying out the pattern for a master triangle requires multiplying the proposed radius of the dome by decimal numbers. Suppose a dome will have a radius of 1.25 meters. If the formula for the length of one side of the master triangle is radius x .618, that means 1.25 meters X .618 = .7725 meters (which is equivalent to 77.25 centimeters). Since the meter stick is divided into decimal increments and is 100 centimeters long, it is easy to find 77.25 centimeters on a meter stick.

Now try to do something similar using a yard stick. Pretend the dome has a radius of 3 feet. Using the same formula, the result is 3 feet x .618 = 1.854 feet. Try to find that on a yard stick!

That’s, “Why metrics?”