For most of their history the Nowans had used a confusing and inconsistent multitude of weights and measures. During the late 18th and 19th centuries there existed in Nowapan a strong inclination to model Nowan society and scholarship after Europe and thus, in 1848, the metric system was adopted. The combination of a language that used a base 20 number system and a decimal system of weights and measures came to be viewed as increasingly inconvenient. In 1925, shortly after the revolution, a group of scholars convened in Rajak (Zapopt�n) with the intention of divising a vigesimal system for Nowapan. The metric system was the model and inspiration but it was not copied slavishly. Out of that conference, came the following six basic units of the Vigesimal System of Weights and Measures.
| Unit of-- | Nova | Metric | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | ph�.nq� | 1.594207 km | .990806 mis. | |
| Area | ptol.nq� | .635374 ha | .570009 acres | |
| Volume | pu.nq� | .916294 L | .091491 gals | |
| Mass | to.nq� | .916294 kg | .454636 lbs | |
| Temperature | ttam.nq� | .682875 � C | 1.231750 � F | |
| Time | dtu.nq� | .5400 sec. | .5400 sec. | |
The ph�.nq� was based upon 1/8000 of the Earth's average diameter at the Equator.
The ptol.nq� was equal to a square 1/20 of a ph�.nq� on a side.
The pu.nq� was equivalent to a cube 1/8000 of a ph�.nq� on a side.
The to.nq� was based upon the weight of the quantity of water contained in a pu.nq�.
The ttam.nq� was 1/400 of the range between Absolute Zero and the freezing point of water.
The dtu.nq� was 1/160,000 of a synodic day
(86,400
seconds).
| Units | Nova |
|---|---|
| 160,000 | -mnu.tto |
| 8,000 | -t'u.tto |
| 400 | -gha.tto |
| 20 | -xa.tto |
| 1/20 | -xa.rhu |
| 1/400 | -gha.rhu |
| 1/8000 | -t'u.rhu |
| 1/160,000 | -mnu.rhu |