science

Zero Milestone

Zero Milestone is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Zero Milestone rather than just read about it. In short: The Zero Milestone is a zero mile marker monument in Washington, D.C., erected in 1923 as the initial milestone from which all road distances in the United States would be measured. Location The monument stands just south of the White House at the north edge of the Ellipse, within President's Park.

Key takeaways

Zero Milestone belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Zero Milestone to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Zero Milestone from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Zero Milestone is a zero mile marker monument in Washington, D.C., erected in 1923 as the initial milestone from which all road distances in the United States would be measured.

Location

The monument stands just south of the White House at the north edge of the Ellipse, within President's Park. Atop the monument is a bronze 16-point compass rose with a very small worn-down pyramid at its center whose top serves as a National Geodetic Survey benchmark (HV1847).

Coordinates: 38°53′42.38736″N 77°02′11.57299″W (NAD83) Altitude: 8.382 m (27.50 ft) (NAVD88)

Description

Designed by Washington architect Horace Peaslee, the monolith is about 2 feet square and about 4 feet high. It is made of precambrian Milford granite from Milford, Massachusetts, light pinkish to greenish gray, with spots of black biotite mica. The bronze disk on top of the milestone is "an adaptation from ancient portolan charts of the so-called wind roses or compass roses from the points of which extended radial lines to all parts of the then known world—the prototype of the modern mariner's compass." The monument has engravings on four surfaces:

North: Zero Milestone East: Starting point of Second Transcontinental Motor Convoy over the Bankhead Highway, June 14, 1920 South: Point for the measurement of distances from Washington on highways of the United States West: Starting point of First Transcontinental Motor Convoy over the Lincoln Highway, July 7, 1919

In addition, a "brass plate placed on the ground at the north base" shown below, contains the following inscription:

The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey determined the latitude, longitude and elevation of the Zero Milestone authorized by Act of Congress June 5, 1920 dedicated June 4, 1923

History

In his plan for Washington, Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant intended a column to be placed 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the Capitol, in what is now Lincoln Park, "from which all distances of places through the continent were to be calculated." Instead, in 1804, the Jefferson Stone or Jefferson Pier was placed on the meridian of the White House due west of the Capitol (390 feet (119 m) WNW of the center of the Washington Monument) to mark the Washington meridian, 77° 02' 11.56". The current Zero Milestone monument was conceived by Good Roads Movement advocate Dr. S. M. Johnson, formally proposed on June 7, 1919. He was inspired by ancient Rome's Golden Milestone located in the Forum. On July 7, 1919, a temporary marker for the Zero Milestone was dedicated on the Ellipse south of the White House during ceremonies launching the Army's first attempt to send a convoy of military vehicles across the country to San Francisco, California. On June 5, 1920, Congress authorized the Secretary of War to erect the current monument, design to be approved by the Commission of Fine Arts and installed at no expense to the government. Dr. Johnson took charge of the details and raised donations for the design and construction. The permanent Zero Milestone was dedicated in a ceremony on June 4, 1923.

See also Benchmarking (geolocating) Geodetic datum Kilometre zero Kilometre Zero (Bucharest) List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 2 Zero Kilometre Stone (Budapest)

References

External links

Dept. of Transportation: Zero Milestone North view with inscription "ZERO MILESTONE" and profile of compass rose Compass rose atop the Zero Milestone Many comments from geocachers and more pictures

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Zero Milestone

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Zero Milestone claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Zero Milestone before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Zero Milestone ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Zero Milestone

In research: Zero Milestone appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Zero Milestone in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Zero Milestone is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1923 establishments in Washington, D.C., Individual signs in the United States, Kilometre-zero markers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Zero Milestone outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Zero Milestone in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Zero Milestone means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Zero Milestone out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Zero Milestone in simple terms?

The Zero Milestone is a zero mile marker monument in Washington, D.C., erected in 1923 as the initial milestone from which all road distances in the United States would be measured. Location The monument stands just south of the White House at the north edge of the Ellipse, within President's Park.

Why does Zero Milestone matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Zero Milestone?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Zero Milestone.