Last modified on July 13, 2016, at 16:23

Mystery:Why Is the Kilogram Losing Weight?

Le Grand K, an alloy that is the international standard for the kilogram, has been losing weight over the years. Why?

Dr. Richard Steiner of the National Institute of Standards declared:

"Relative to the average of all the sister copies made over the last 100 years you could say it is losing [mass], but by definition it can't. So the others are really gaining mass."[1]

"By definition" refers to how Le Grand K is still defined as one kilogram, no matter how much weight it actually loses.

References

  1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sci/tech/7084099.stm