The Platinum Standard

I found this article on Wired’s Science RSS feed and thought it was worth sharing. To give a quick overview, it discusses the current physical standard for the kilogram…which is a platinum cylinder which is stored outside of Paris in a glass jar which is then inside another glass jar in a vault. Apparently it gains 50 micrograms of mass every century which is considered scientifically unreliable. The Germans are responding with a silicon sphere who, if enlarged to the size of the earth, would only have a maximum hill height of nine feet. An accurate miniaturization of the earth…a racquetball. It’s understandable as they’ve been polishing the sphere for two years.

I find this fascinating. In our postmodern world of wireless everything, we still have a deep need for something physical.

Here’s the full article.