The main advantage of this system is its scaling. Rectangular paper with an aspect ratio of √2 has the unique property that, when cut or folded in half midway between its longer sides, each half has the same √2 aspect ratio as the whole sheet before it was divided. Equivalently, if one lays two same-sized sheets of paper with an aspect ratio of √2 side by side along their longer side, they form a larger rectangle with the aspect ratio of √2 and double the area of each individual sheet.

Paper in the A series format has an aspect ratio of √2 (≈ 1.414, when rounded). A0 is defined so that it has an area of 1 m2 (11 sq ft) before rounding to the nearest 1 millimetre (0.039 in).

  • @200ok
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    53 days ago

    Cool, thanks for sharing!

    And thanks for providing a brief summary.

    • optional
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      fedilink
      13 days ago

      I’m always fascinated that people in one country do not know what is basically considered primary school knowledge in the rest of the world. Makes me wonder what interesting stuff I don’t know that’s common knowledge for all you guys.

      relevant xkcd

    • merde alorsOPM
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      fedilink
      33 days ago

      a sort of reality pixel, which is best not to think about

      😅

      thanks for sharing this