For Scientists, Kilogram Loses Mass Appeal

One-kilogram spherical crystals of silicon, polished by an Australian measurement lab into perfect spheres. An international team of physicists wants to use these spheres to establish a new international standard for the mass of 1 kilogram. Scientists at the Institute for Crystal Growth in Berlin wi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inKnight Ridder Tribune Business News p. 1
Main Author Witze, Alexandra
Format Newsletter
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Tribune Content Agency LLC 18.11.2002
Subjects
Davis, Richard
De Bivre, Paul
Kibble, Bryan
Metric system
Physicists
Silicon
Spheres
Steiner, Robert Rathe Richard
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Summary:One-kilogram spherical crystals of silicon, polished by an Australian measurement lab into perfect spheres. An international team of physicists wants to use these spheres to establish a new international standard for the mass of 1 kilogram. Scientists at the Institute for Crystal Growth in Berlin will soon make test crystals of silicon-28 to see how the material behaves. The project could have its kilogram replacement as soon as six years from now, Dr. [Paul De Bivre] said. The apparatus works by balancing the force of gravity pulling down on a 1-kilogram mass against an upward-pulling magnetic force. The device can indirectly define the kilogram because all the other units measured such as time, length, voltage and resistance are already precisely defined.