---
type: Object
title: The Aldervane Primer of Natural Measurement
description: The standard first textbook of natural measurement used by the Institute
  and every school in the Republic of Kelvarra.
tags:
- kelvarra
- the-institute
- maren-aldervane
- publication
resource: raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md
aliases:
- the Primer
timestamp: '2026-07-16T14:35:37Z'
citadel_version: 0.3.0
---

# The Aldervane Primer of Natural Measurement

The Aldervane Primer of Natural Measurement is the standard first text of [the Institute](../organizations/the-institute.md) and of every school in the Republic of Kelvarra.[^s1][^s7]

It opens with a treatment of three constants the Institute holds as pinned down by measurement — the [speed of light](../concepts/speed-of-light.md), the [speed of sound](../concepts/speed-of-sound.md), and the [boiling point of water](../concepts/boiling-point-of-water.md).[^s2] It goes on to describe the Institute's standard materials, including [the standard kilogram](the-standard-kilogram.md),[^s3] and its bronze [Meridian](the-meridian.md) bearing line.[^s4]

The sixth edition, dated 1994, carries a preface by the Institute's Director that reprints [Maren Aldervane](../persons/maren-aldervane.md)'s foreword to the first edition in full; by the Director's own account the book "remains, in every line that matters, her book."[^s5]

By what the Primer calls "the Institute's old joke," a student who has learned the three constants and the Meridian's location is already half a metrologist — the remaining half being "the next four hundred pages, and a lifetime of checking."[^s6]

## See also
- [The Institute](../organizations/the-institute.md)
- [Maren Aldervane](../persons/maren-aldervane.md)
- [Speed of Light](../concepts/speed-of-light.md)
- [Speed of Sound](../concepts/speed-of-sound.md)
- [Boiling Point of Water](../concepts/boiling-point-of-water.md)
- [The Meridian](the-meridian.md)
- [The Standard Kilogram](the-standard-kilogram.md)

## Sources
[^s1]: [raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md](../../raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md), lines 3-4 — the Primer as standard first text of the Institute and the Republic's schools (ingested 2026-07-04)
[^s2]: [raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md](../../raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md), § Chapter I — On constants, and why we trust them — the three constants chapter (ingested 2026-07-04)
[^s3]: [raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md](../../raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md), § Chapter II — On substances — standard materials and the standard kilogram (ingested 2026-07-04)
[^s4]: [raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md](../../raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md), § Chapter III — On instruments, and the Meridian — the Meridian chapter (ingested 2026-07-04)
[^s5]: [raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md](../../raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md), lines 72-74 — the sixth edition's 1994 Director's preface and Aldervane's reprinted foreword (ingested 2026-07-04)
[^s6]: [raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md](../../raw/aldervane-primer-extract.md), lines 68-70 — "the Institute's old joke" about a student's progress (ingested 2026-07-04)
[^s7]: [raw/almanac-of-kelvarra-1998.md](../../raw/almanac-of-kelvarra-1998.md), lines 49-52 — the Primer as the foundation of science teaching in every Kelvarran school (ingested 2026-07-04)
