The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology called this Friday a “turning point for humanity,” even though the difference between this day and the day before weighs, theoretically, nothing ...

We measure stuff all the time — how long, how heavy, how hot, and so on — because we need to for things such as trade, health and knowledge. But making sure our measurements compare apples with apples ...

is a senior reporter who has covered AI, robotics, and more for eight years at The Verge. Update, May 20th, 2019, 10AM ET: This article was originally published in November 2018. As of May 20th, 2019, ...

How much is a kilogram? It turns out that nobody can say for sure, at least not in a way that won’t change ever so slightly over time. The official kilogram – a cylinder cast 118 years ago from ...

For decades, metrologists have strived to retire ‘Le Grand K’ — the platinum and iridium cylinder that for 126 years has defined the kilogram from a high-security vault outside Paris. Now it looks as ...

Redefinition of the kilogram will not make the kilogram more precise, but it will make it more stable. A physical object can lose or gain atoms over time, or be destroyed, but constants remain the ...

The kilogram is getting an update. No, your bathroom scales won’t suddenly become kinder and a kilo of fruit will still weigh a kilo. But the way scientists define the exact mass of a kilogram is ...

The International Committee for Weights and Measures is about to reach a decision that could affect the teaching and understanding of basic science for the next hundred years. It has passed a ...

The official definition of a kilogram has been changing for well over a century, but this week it may be redefined for the final time. After years of debate and discussion, scientists from around the ...

Scientists voted on Friday to redefine it based on electric currents. A replica of the International Prototype Kilogram is pictured is seen at the 26th meeting of the General Conference on Weights and ...