Charlie Morris
C-Band
1/7/19
Redefining the Metric System
The origin of the metric system has its roots in France during the 1700s. France was a cosmopolitan place with approximately 250K different units of measure in regular use. This was very confusing and bad for trade. Then, during a famine in the 1780’s, bakers starting making bread loaves lighter. People became angry about this and cried out for standardized weights and measures. As the new revolutionary government took over France, this became a priority for them. They created the kilogram by taking the circumference of the Earth and then mathematically manipulating its value. France wanted the whole world to use the kilogram. They wanted the kilogram to be eternal and unchanging. The definition of the kilogram was one part of the metric system, along with other units of measurement like the meter.
These units were able to facilitate communication because they were global agreements. Goods and ideas were now more easily exchanged between all people.
The standard definition of a kilogram was very simple. Its definition was just the mass of a plumb sized medal, the “Grand K.” The disturbing discovery made by the keepers of the “Grand K” in 1989 was that the “Grand K” was slightly lighter than one kilogram in comparison to its copies. This led the keepers to the troubling possibility that the international standard for weight was losing mass. This is a big problem because if the definition of a kilogram is the mass of the “Grand K,” then it would mean that all the kilogram weighing machines in the world are inaccurate.
In the metric system, there are seven base units. While the second, meter, and kilogram are each a base unit, they help to derive all the other measurement units. Time and the meter are currently based on “constants” of physical science, but the kilogram is not, and is still based on the mass of the “Grand K.”
To solve this problem, on November 16, 2018, in Versailles, France, sixty countries came together and voted unanimously to change the definition of the kilogram to something based on a “constant” of physical science. While the treaty of Versailles helped to end World War I, this new vote in Versailles “solved” the kilogram problem. Specifically, it redefined the kilogram using a fixed value for the Planck constant, the meter, and the second. The Planck constant is a natural phenomena on Earth. For the first time, the metric system will be entirely based on eternal properties of nature.
The original goals of the people who established the metric system in 1875 were to facilitate communication using units, but with the “Grand K,” the value of a kilogram is subject to change. In fact, as explained above, the mass of the “Grand K” did change.
The recent vote in Versailles realizes the original goals of the metric system and tries to better facilitate communication with units. It allows communication with the kilogram to be more precise and accurate.
For the first time, the metric system will be defined fully by nature’s fundamental laws. As measurements are used in all parts of modern life, from GPS navigation systems to sending texts, precision and accuracy is essential, as is consistency over time. These measurements must be unchangeable over time. The new definition of the kilogram helps to support these principles.
This moment can be described as a “turning point for humanity.” If history is any indication, as our measurements have become more precise and accurate, new innovations have occurred. This new definition of the kilogram, voted upon in 2018, will likely lead to unimaginable technological innovations.
While buying a kilogram of chicken in a deli will still be the same, there will be massive changes in other areas. Firstly, manufacturers of scientific instruments will need to adapt their products to better fit this new kilogram definition. Secondly, pharmaceutical companies, for example, will start using the metric systems’ improved scalability, thus leading to big changes. This improved scalability in the metric system has to do with the fact that it is no longer using physical objects like the “Grand K” to measure things. Pharmaceutical companies will now be able to research new drugs in much smaller quantities with better accuracy than they did before. This change can easily allow for the creation of new innovative medication. This new medication can directly help to either save my life or the lives of the people I care about.
Bibliography
≤ kg [Audio blog interview]. (2014, June 13). Retrieved December 27, 2018, from
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/kg
Materese, R. (2018, December 06). A Turning Point for Humanity: Redefining the World's Measurement System. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from https://www.nist.gov/si-redefinition/turning-point-humanity-redefining-worlds-measurement-system
Nasser, L. (2014, July 9). The Meter: The Measure of a Man [Web log post]. Retrieved December 27, 2018,
from https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/meter-measure-man
C-Band
1/7/19
Redefining the Metric System
The origin of the metric system has its roots in France during the 1700s. France was a cosmopolitan place with approximately 250K different units of measure in regular use. This was very confusing and bad for trade. Then, during a famine in the 1780’s, bakers starting making bread loaves lighter. People became angry about this and cried out for standardized weights and measures. As the new revolutionary government took over France, this became a priority for them. They created the kilogram by taking the circumference of the Earth and then mathematically manipulating its value. France wanted the whole world to use the kilogram. They wanted the kilogram to be eternal and unchanging. The definition of the kilogram was one part of the metric system, along with other units of measurement like the meter.
These units were able to facilitate communication because they were global agreements. Goods and ideas were now more easily exchanged between all people.
The standard definition of a kilogram was very simple. Its definition was just the mass of a plumb sized medal, the “Grand K.” The disturbing discovery made by the keepers of the “Grand K” in 1989 was that the “Grand K” was slightly lighter than one kilogram in comparison to its copies. This led the keepers to the troubling possibility that the international standard for weight was losing mass. This is a big problem because if the definition of a kilogram is the mass of the “Grand K,” then it would mean that all the kilogram weighing machines in the world are inaccurate.
In the metric system, there are seven base units. While the second, meter, and kilogram are each a base unit, they help to derive all the other measurement units. Time and the meter are currently based on “constants” of physical science, but the kilogram is not, and is still based on the mass of the “Grand K.”
To solve this problem, on November 16, 2018, in Versailles, France, sixty countries came together and voted unanimously to change the definition of the kilogram to something based on a “constant” of physical science. While the treaty of Versailles helped to end World War I, this new vote in Versailles “solved” the kilogram problem. Specifically, it redefined the kilogram using a fixed value for the Planck constant, the meter, and the second. The Planck constant is a natural phenomena on Earth. For the first time, the metric system will be entirely based on eternal properties of nature.
The original goals of the people who established the metric system in 1875 were to facilitate communication using units, but with the “Grand K,” the value of a kilogram is subject to change. In fact, as explained above, the mass of the “Grand K” did change.
The recent vote in Versailles realizes the original goals of the metric system and tries to better facilitate communication with units. It allows communication with the kilogram to be more precise and accurate.
For the first time, the metric system will be defined fully by nature’s fundamental laws. As measurements are used in all parts of modern life, from GPS navigation systems to sending texts, precision and accuracy is essential, as is consistency over time. These measurements must be unchangeable over time. The new definition of the kilogram helps to support these principles.
This moment can be described as a “turning point for humanity.” If history is any indication, as our measurements have become more precise and accurate, new innovations have occurred. This new definition of the kilogram, voted upon in 2018, will likely lead to unimaginable technological innovations.
While buying a kilogram of chicken in a deli will still be the same, there will be massive changes in other areas. Firstly, manufacturers of scientific instruments will need to adapt their products to better fit this new kilogram definition. Secondly, pharmaceutical companies, for example, will start using the metric systems’ improved scalability, thus leading to big changes. This improved scalability in the metric system has to do with the fact that it is no longer using physical objects like the “Grand K” to measure things. Pharmaceutical companies will now be able to research new drugs in much smaller quantities with better accuracy than they did before. This change can easily allow for the creation of new innovative medication. This new medication can directly help to either save my life or the lives of the people I care about.
Bibliography
≤ kg [Audio blog interview]. (2014, June 13). Retrieved December 27, 2018, from
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/kg
Materese, R. (2018, December 06). A Turning Point for Humanity: Redefining the World's Measurement System. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from https://www.nist.gov/si-redefinition/turning-point-humanity-redefining-worlds-measurement-system
Nasser, L. (2014, July 9). The Meter: The Measure of a Man [Web log post]. Retrieved December 27, 2018,
from https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/meter-measure-man
