A comprehensive reference to what is measured, how and why. Measurement is constantly all around us. It forms the foundations of science - the ohms and amps of physics and the moles and isotopes of chemistry - and shapes our every day. Our relationships with measurement start the moment we wake and check the day's temperature and continue until the precise second we go to sleep. But beyond the familiar measurements, hundreds more are listed in this entertaining and revealing reference. The methods used to measure food, photography, finance, commerce, magnetism, atomic physics are just a fraction of the areas covered in this essential guide that helps us to better understand how our world works.