Joey Spungen
Chemistry E Band
January 14, 2019
Redefining the World’s Measurement System
Around the time of the French Revolution, over 250,000 different units existed, which made trade extremely difficult, and even led to people paying unfair prices for bread, as there wasn’t a standard to hold sellers to. This led to the creation of a new, standardized system of measurement called the SI system. The creators of the SI system sought to create a single set of measurement standards that was based on nature and timeless, so that it could be used by people everywhere, forever. However, the meter, which was supposed to be one ten-millionth of the distance between the equator and the North Pole, was calibrated slightly inaccurately, so that the bar made to represent the meter was not based off nature. The kilogram was based on the mass of a liter of water, but it was represented by a physical object, called “Le Grand K,” and as time went on, the mass of that object actually decreased. Clearly, this system did not meet the original goal of the creators of the SI system, who wanted the units to be available “for all times, for all people,” and have the units be based on nature and timeless, and it was not ideal for making accurate, precise measurements.
Over time, though, all of the SI units, including meters, seconds, and more, except the kilogram were redefined to be based on constants of physical science. For example, the meter is now based off the speed of light. On November 16, 2018, a vote confirmed that the kilogram will become the final SI unit to be redefined to be based off of natural constants. It will now be defined using the Planck constant, which relates a light particle’s energy to its frequency, and the definitions of the meter and the second, which are already based on physical constants.
Finally, hundreds of years after the SI system was first conceived, all of its units have met the goals of the system’s creators, and eliminated the problems the units faced when they were represented by physical objects. We can now advance in science and industry at a greater pace than ever before, and possibly, the redefinition of all seven SI units will allow us to solve problems and understand our world in a way that we couldn’t have otherwise.
While the redefinition of SI units may not affect my life or many other people’s lives directly, its impact on science and industry can affect all of our lives indirectly. With the redefinition of a kilogram, we finally have an unchanging, standardized, precise definition for the unit of measurement for mass, which has numerous benefits for science and industry. For example, when the kilogram was based off of a physical object, accuracy decreased when the thing you were measuring was much larger or smaller than a single kilogram, but after the redefinition, that is no longer an issue. This will lead to more accuracy and precisions in measurements, allowing us to test things that we couldn’t before, giving more accurate and precise results than ever. In industry, if a measurement of something very small or large is needed, that can now be completed more accurately and precisely, so better product testing can be done and products that require very precise, accurate measurements, such as drugs, can be made better. In addition, any measurement can now be better repeated by others around the world, and we no longer need to regularly recalibrate our measuring tools, because we know our kilogram is unchanging, unlike with “Le Grand K,” and people now do not need to calibrate their kilograms against a physical object. This can lead to expansion in both science and industry, as experiments can be better repeated, and products can be manufactured the same way across the world without any issue. Overall, while we might not feel the effects of the redefinition of the kilogram on a day to day basis, it completes the work of people from hundreds of years ago, and can genuinely allow for great advancement in science and industry.
Works Cited
Materese, R. (2018, December 06). A Turning Point for Humanity: Redefining the World's Measurement System. Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.nist.gov/si-redefinition/turning-point-humanity-redefining-worlds-measurement-system
The Meter: The Measure of a Man | Radiolab. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/meter-measure-man
≤ kg | Radiolab. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/kg
Chemistry E Band
January 14, 2019
Redefining the World’s Measurement System
Around the time of the French Revolution, over 250,000 different units existed, which made trade extremely difficult, and even led to people paying unfair prices for bread, as there wasn’t a standard to hold sellers to. This led to the creation of a new, standardized system of measurement called the SI system. The creators of the SI system sought to create a single set of measurement standards that was based on nature and timeless, so that it could be used by people everywhere, forever. However, the meter, which was supposed to be one ten-millionth of the distance between the equator and the North Pole, was calibrated slightly inaccurately, so that the bar made to represent the meter was not based off nature. The kilogram was based on the mass of a liter of water, but it was represented by a physical object, called “Le Grand K,” and as time went on, the mass of that object actually decreased. Clearly, this system did not meet the original goal of the creators of the SI system, who wanted the units to be available “for all times, for all people,” and have the units be based on nature and timeless, and it was not ideal for making accurate, precise measurements.
Over time, though, all of the SI units, including meters, seconds, and more, except the kilogram were redefined to be based on constants of physical science. For example, the meter is now based off the speed of light. On November 16, 2018, a vote confirmed that the kilogram will become the final SI unit to be redefined to be based off of natural constants. It will now be defined using the Planck constant, which relates a light particle’s energy to its frequency, and the definitions of the meter and the second, which are already based on physical constants.
Finally, hundreds of years after the SI system was first conceived, all of its units have met the goals of the system’s creators, and eliminated the problems the units faced when they were represented by physical objects. We can now advance in science and industry at a greater pace than ever before, and possibly, the redefinition of all seven SI units will allow us to solve problems and understand our world in a way that we couldn’t have otherwise.
While the redefinition of SI units may not affect my life or many other people’s lives directly, its impact on science and industry can affect all of our lives indirectly. With the redefinition of a kilogram, we finally have an unchanging, standardized, precise definition for the unit of measurement for mass, which has numerous benefits for science and industry. For example, when the kilogram was based off of a physical object, accuracy decreased when the thing you were measuring was much larger or smaller than a single kilogram, but after the redefinition, that is no longer an issue. This will lead to more accuracy and precisions in measurements, allowing us to test things that we couldn’t before, giving more accurate and precise results than ever. In industry, if a measurement of something very small or large is needed, that can now be completed more accurately and precisely, so better product testing can be done and products that require very precise, accurate measurements, such as drugs, can be made better. In addition, any measurement can now be better repeated by others around the world, and we no longer need to regularly recalibrate our measuring tools, because we know our kilogram is unchanging, unlike with “Le Grand K,” and people now do not need to calibrate their kilograms against a physical object. This can lead to expansion in both science and industry, as experiments can be better repeated, and products can be manufactured the same way across the world without any issue. Overall, while we might not feel the effects of the redefinition of the kilogram on a day to day basis, it completes the work of people from hundreds of years ago, and can genuinely allow for great advancement in science and industry.
Works Cited
Materese, R. (2018, December 06). A Turning Point for Humanity: Redefining the World's Measurement System. Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.nist.gov/si-redefinition/turning-point-humanity-redefining-worlds-measurement-system
The Meter: The Measure of a Man | Radiolab. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/meter-measure-man
≤ kg | Radiolab. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/kg
