The Mystery of the Shrinking Standard Kilogram

Surprisingly enough, nowadays, one kilogram weighs less than it did a century ago…about 50 micrograms less. The 118-year-old international prototype for the metric mass, kept tightly under lock outside Paris, is mysteriously losing weight. "The reference kilo appears to have lost 50 microgram... [ read more >> ]

Richard Davis of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, sits next to a copy of the cylinder that has been the international prototype for the metric mass, in his office in Sevres.

Image comment: Richard Davis of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, sits next to a copy of the cylinder that has been the international prototype for the metric mass, in his office in Sevres.
Image credits: AP/Jacques Brinon

Richard Davis of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, sits next to a copy of the cylinder that has been the international prototype for the metric mass, in his office in Sevres.
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