Shrinking Kilogram Bewilders Physicists
September 12, 2007 By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer
Physicist Richard Davis of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, sits next to a copy of a 118-year-old cylinder that has been the international prototype for the metric mass, in his office in Sevres, southwest of Paris, Wednesday, Sept. 12,007. Davis said the reference kilo appears to have lost 50 micrograms compared to the average of dozens of copies. The kilogram's inconstancy illustrates how technological progress is leaving science's most basic measurements in its dust. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
(AP) -- A kilogram just isn't what it used to be. The 118-year-old cylinder that is the international prototype for the metric mass, kept tightly under lock and key outside Paris, is mysteriously losing weight - if ever so slightly.
Content from The Associated Press expires 15 days after original publication date. For more information about The Associated Press, please visit www.ap.org .
Similar stories from PHYSorg:
AT&T now says SlingPlayer for iPhone on 3G is OK
Feb 04, 2010 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
2
New Hubble Maps of Pluto Show Surface Changes (w/ Video)
Feb 04, 2010 |
4.9 / 5 (16) |
7
Obama unveils new biofuels, carbon capture, initiatives
Feb 03, 2010 |
2.6 / 5 (10) |
5
Comcast 4Q profit up on revenue boost, tax gain
Feb 03, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
Powering cube satellites
Feb 03, 2010 |
3.9 / 5 (13) |
11


