ABSTRACT
One foot is short. One inch is long. (Qu Yuan, Chinese poet and patriot, 340-278 BC )
M EASUREMENT IN EVERYDAY LIFE is commonly associated with the tools of our time. We use things like tape measures, clocks, and thermometers to measure concepts such as length, time, and temperature. How well we measure these concepts depends to a large extent on the tools we use. An atomic wall clock provides a much more accurate measure of time than eyeballing the position of the sun. Similarly, new advances in nanotechnology-technology at the level of the atom-are changing the ways in which doctors diagnose and treat cancer. Doctors can now detect cancer at its earliest stages, pinpoint its exact location within the body, and direct anticancer drugs to the affected cells.
