scThe metric system was established in 1790 by a group of scientists in France. It works by a simple decimal, or ten, system, using only three basic units. The main measurements are the meter (length), the gram (mass), and the liter (capacity).
There are ten prefixes which can be attached to any of the units. Each subdivides or multiplies the basic unit by ten:
mega means 1,000,000
myria means 10,000
kilo means 1,000
hecto means 100
deka means 10
deci means 1/10
centi means 1/100
milli means 1/1000
micro means 1/1,000,000
millimicro means 1/1,000,000,000
