Measurements
• In order to determine if the aerodynamic forces
on an object are sufficient to allow flight, the forces must be measured. The different contributions of the air moving around the object must be categorized and defined, and they must be quantified. There are specific qualities that are used to categorize and define these contributions. In addition, these qualities need a guideline to measure them by. The guidelines are called units, and the qualities are mass, time, length, and temperature.
Unit
• Units are used to define measurements so that
everyone knows exactly how much. They sound very technical, but they are used all over the world in every day examples. It is important to always include the units when talking about measuring a quality. If a bridge designer develops a bridge across a river that is supposed to be 1000 meters long (a measure of length), and one of the builders tells him or her that the bridge is short by 1, what does that mean?