Ghyll:Chesix System Of Measures

Overview

The existence of the Chesix Society is widely debated among scholars. The system of measurement attributed to the society is believed to originate during the period of the Nitenmangrey. It is clear that someone developed this system of measure and that they have been in common use since before written records.

The fact that such a complex set of rules was able to survive without writing is remarkable.

The Rules of Distance

Distance is fixed - the standard is the Rod of Quiends which is stored in a vault in the head quarters of the Aminfarances Institute of Science and Technomancy. A sugro-nanit is defined to be 3657 lengths of the [Rod of Quiends]]. It is also an accepted fact that 25 sugro-nanits are 201,168 nanits. This means that there are 8046.72 nanits in a sugro-nanit and that the Rod of Quiends is approximately 2.2 nanits long^†.

• 1 lele = 9 lunanit.
• 1 lunanit = 11 kunanit (5.08 Lunanits = 1 Sugro-nanit).
• 1 kunanit = 9 unanit.
• 1 unanit = 16 nanit.
• 1 nanit = 11 inanit.
• 1 inanit = 9 kinanit.
• 1 kinanit = 13 linanit.
• 1 lele = 9 lunanits = 99 kunanits = 891 unanits = 14,256 nanits = 156,816 inanits = 1,411,344 kinanits = 18,347,472 linanits.
• 1 lele = 1.772 sugro-nanits.

Much fuss is made of the complexity of our system of linear measurement. It is clear to this author that the complexity is derived from two truths.

The first is that the Rod of Quiends is clearly the standard for the definition of the Sugro-nanit. This unit of measure has gained almost universal support which is why the only place we are likely to see the other variations of the nanit (the unanit, lunanit and kunanit) are in texts. In everyday life, people tend to use nanits, sugro-nanits and leles.

The second is that a nanit is clearly the standard size for a Bindlet Ball. Although these objects are notoriously unstable with respect to diameter, it is still a generally accepted principle.

Which of these two standards came first is not clear, and is probably apocryphal. What is important, is that in every-day use these two standards do exist.

The Rules of Mass

• A single Fefferberry will have a mass of 1 gyup and is the standard against which a gyup is measured.
• A cube of water 1 nanit x 1 nanit x 1 nanit will have a mass of 1,331 gyup
• 1331 gyup = 0.86037 lugyup
• Many have noted that 1331 Fefferberries almost never have the same mass as a cubic nanit of water. This is unfortunate, because the variance is unpredictable. Most consider this a sign that the gods are testing us.

The Rules of Volume

• A cube measuring 1 nanit x 1 nanit x 1 nanit will have a volume of 1 wurp
• A cube measuring 1 unanit x 1 unanit x 1 unanit will have a volume of 4,913 wurp. 1 wurp of water will have a mass of 1,331 gyup or 0.86037 lugyup

The Rules of Temperature

• Water will freeze at 0 Yip.
• Water will boil at 100 Yip.

This rule is subject to change depending on location. Scholars have noted that this is not constant but varies. It is true when at the coast, but will change in the mountains. The reason behind this inconsistency is unclear.

Summary

It is certain that as study in this field progresses, more standards will likely be developed. To date, Chesix standards have fullfilled their function, allowing commerce to flourish, the rules of Bindlet Ball to be codified (at least as far as ball size is concerned) and history to be studied.

Some, notably the philosopher and mathematician Pricludious, claim that the Chesix system has nothing to do with standards and is biased toward merchants. This scholar believes that if Pricludious had been a little less pedantic he might have enjoyed life a little more than he did.

Footnote

^†There are 8046.72 nanits in a sugro-nanit and there are 3657 rods in a sugro-nanit.

⇒ 8046.72/3657 = 2.20016407 nanits in the rod.

'"Citations:'" Bindlet Ball, Pricludious, Rod of Quiends --Dok HH:MM 18 Sep 2004 (EDT)