Millimetre

The millimetre (International spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or millimeter (American spelling) (SI unit symbol mm) is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousandth of a metre, which is the SI base unit of length.

It is equal to 1,000 micrometres and 1,000,000 nanometres. There are 25.4 mm in one inch by definition, so a millimetre is exactly equal to ⁵⁄₁₂₇ inch.

Definition

Since 1983, the metre has been defined as "the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second." A millimetre, 1/1000 of a metre, is therefore the distance travelled by light in 1/299,792,458,000 of a second.

Unicode symbols

For the purposes of compatibility with Chinese, Japanese and Korean (CJK) characters, Unicode has symbols for:

Measurement

On a metric ruler, the smallest measurements are normally millimetres. High-quality engineering rules may be graduated in increments of 0.5 mm. Digital Vernier callipers are commonly capable of reading increments as small as 0.01 mm.

89 Millimeter

89 Millimeter is a documentary by filmmaker Sebastian Heinzel, filmed from 2004 to 2005 in Belarus.

Subject Matter

The film explores the life of six young Belarusians facing their futures in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The titular 89 millimeters refer to the difference between the gauge of the railway tracks of Belarus and those of its western neighbors. The difference is small, but symbolizes how the border of the "last dictatorship in Europe" marks the edge of a different world.

Selected Festival Participation

Awards

16 mm film

16 mm film is a popular, economical gauge of film. 16 mm is the width of the film. Other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educational) film making or for low budget motion pictures. It also existed as a popular amateur or home movie making format for several decades, alongside 8 mm film and, later, Super 8 mm film. In 1923, Eastman Kodak released the first 16 mm "outfit" consisting of a camera, projector, tripod, screen and splicer for $335. RCA-Victor introduced a 16 mm sound movie projector in 1932 and developed an optical sound-on-film 16 mm camera, released in 1935.

History

Eastman Kodak introduced 16 mm film in 1923 as a less expensive amateur alternative to 35 mm film. During the 1920s, the format was often referred to as sub-standard by the professional industry.

Kodak hired Willard Beech Cook from his 28 mm Pathescope of America company to create the new 16 mm Kodascope Library. In addition to making home movies, people could buy or rent films from the library, a key selling aspect of the format.