Perfect Silicon Sphere to Redefine the Kilogram

MrCreosote writes "The Age reports optical specialists at CSIRO are helping create a new standard for the kilogram, based on a precise number of atoms in a perfect sphere of silicon. This will replace the International Prototype, a lump of metal alloy in a vault in Paris."

Re:"perfect" sphere

[Rendo]

Women are perfect, and they're physical objects. Or at least they've always told me that...

The real reason they are changing it

[antifoidulus]

is because they are embarrassed of the fact that a T-rex managed to steal [qwantz.com] the original one and now they need a replacement.

Ah yes...

[Nerdposeur]

..but how can they make sure the new kilogram weighs a kilogram? :)

Re:"perfect" sphere

[TapeCutter]

"but can you ever really get a perfect anything?"

The whole notion of "silicon balls" sounds fake to me!

Re:"perfect" sphere

[Gorshkov]

May God have mercy on your soul if you ever attempt to call a woman a physical object to her face.

Re:"perfect" sphere

[Anonymous Coward]

>May God have mercy on your soul if you ever attempt to call a woman a physical object to her face.
Especially if he compares her to a perfect sphere.

Okay geeks...

[Dan East]

A perfect sphere, down to the atom, of 1 kg silicon would require pi to what precision?

Dan East

Re:"perfect" sphere

[CommunistHamster]

It makes the calculations simpler.

perfect, well-rounded, bouncy

[siddesu]

silicon spheres will define the standard ... will they be coming in pairs by any chance?

Re:"perfect" sphere

[metlin]

Would you rather a square? =)

Reminds me of a story - a friend had gotten a boob-job and we were all out for dinner one night. Another common friend of ours hadn't known this and the first time he saw her, he burst out - "You've grown three dimensionally!"

Insert random breast implant joke here.

[JDark]

Jenna Jameson do your part for science.

SI horsepower

[Bromskloss]

One horsepower is the power of the reference horse in an archive in Paris.

Re:First of all

[alx5000]

The same way I measure how many 1/299,792,458's of a second takes light to get from home to where I work...

Exam

[matt me]

Weird. I read about this in an exam I took last week. It stated that the present standard kilogram is a mass of platinum and iridium kept at STP underground, and asked what factors might affect the mass of the standard kilogram when it is measured. I answered if any isotopes of platinum or iridium decay, or if the standard kilogram had a velocity close to the speed of light.

Re:alternate theories

[_Eric]

OK parent was perfectly right, I should have shut up.

Re:alternate theories

[hanshotfirst]

Duck Measurer: "I put a duck on one side of the scale, and use weights (lumps of known mass) on the other side to determine the mass of the duck."
Some Guy: "Umm, but you already know the mass of the weights, why are you bothering?"

To see if they float, of course.

I can think of a better material.

[frostilicus2]

I'd prefer A non-perfect sphere of Silicone [wikipedia.org].

Re:perfect, well-rounded, bouncy

[Sinbios]

Silicon not silicone.

It should be a perfect cube

[clickety6]

...that way they'll be able to find it again after they put it down somewhere.

"Zut alors! Pierre, le sphere parfait - ou est-ce que tu le placer?

"C'etait sur le table, Jean-Claude"

"Merde, il avait roller sous le sofa encore!"

Would you trust Austalians for that ?

[boule75]

I mean, come on, would you Australians to define scientific standards? I won't!

For starters, those guys believe the South is on the top and North is at the bottom of the maps! I feel upside down just thinking of it. And on which side of the road are they driving already? North or south? See: you cannot trust those guys!

Second, the issue with "the" current "reference" in Paris (there are three cylinders in fact) is that is loses atoms sometimes, so its mass diminishes. I mean it is still The Kilogramme but the kilogramme is not what it was some years ago when the grass was greener and the boys were nice and, hum! Anyway, how would that be different with yet another physical object? Wouldn't it lose some random atoms from time to time?

Third, it is well known that international standards are defined in Paris: the internationnal skirts lenght association, the general contest of retreat speed and the cheese-smelling index are all defined in my city and everybody agrees with that. M. Sarkozy has just battled staunchly with M. Puttin to assert our rights on those essential fields.

Finally, I suspect that the kilogramme may be re-defined in October 2007 in Paris (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilogramme): a meeting of the Bureau Internationnal des Poids et Mesures (BIPM, Internationnal Weights and Measures Bureau in French) is scheduled this year.

Best kisses from Earth.

Re:alternate theories

[Anonymous Cowled]

Villager > If... she... weighs... the same as a duck,... she's made of wood.
Bedevere > And therefore?
Villager > A witch!

Re:"perfect" sphere

[hal2814]

A friend with a boob job? This is Slashdot so you're obviously not talking about a female (I'll ignore the "her" and assume it's a typo.). Who got the boob job? Is his name Robert Paulson?

But the real question is...

[SixArmedJesus]

Does it look and feel like the real thing? /Sili-what? oh.

The Perfect Sphere

[egyptiankarim]

They should be careful with this thing. I heard that if you go inside it, it will give you the ability to manifest your thoughts into reality! Usually situations like that just end up with giant squids attacking your underwater science labs.

Re:I can think of a better material.

[stud9920]

I'd prefer two.

Re:Okay geeks...

[AnotherBlackHat]

640 digits of PI ought to be good enough for anyone.

-- Should you believe authority without question?

Re:alternate theories

[Linker3000]

In order to comply with National Legislation, witch burning must be made carbon neutral by the planting of an equivalent number of new trees in the enchanted forest.