Cândido Batista de Oliveira e seu papel na implantação do sistema métrico decimal no Brasil

Abstract

The introduction of the decimal metric system in Brazil, in the second half of XJXth century, was a complex and lengthy process where severa[ economic, political and cultural factors are present. Due to the authoritarian fashion the system was officially imposed, strong resistances arose in many provinces of the country. ln this paper we discuss the life and the works of the first advocate of the adoption of the decimal metric system in Brazil: Cândido Batista de Oliveira. He was professor of Polytechnic School of Rio de Janeiro and, during his public life, was in charge of severa[ government positions. He created also the magazine Revista Brazileira which had an expressive cultural influence in his time. ln a particular section, we discuss Oliveiras works on Foucault's pendulum; they have been published in prestigious scientific journals as Comptes Rendus and Proceedings of the Royal Society. ln spite of some theoretical and experimental faults, we note Oliveira 's pionnering in trying to perform in Brazil an important experiment in physics.