Posts tagged with ‘metric system’

The problem with physical measurement prototypes and why the kilogram might be screwed

It may seem old fashioned, but every single kilogram, from Geneva to Colombia, is based on the weight of a single platinum and iridium pellet forged in 1879. The piece of metal is stored in three bell jars in a vacuum-sealed vault somewhere outside Paris, and it represents one of the last examples of basing a widely used unit of measurement on a physical, tangible object.

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