I thought this is was why the SI was so superior to the english system, at least that is what we were told.
The diameter and height of the Le Grand K are measured in INCHES? That sure makes sense.
My hunch is the universal gravitational constant isn’t.
Now where is that gravitational constant when you need it?
Just as variations in various nation's kilogram samples have varied, so too have their degree "samples". These degree "samples" have gotten hotter, as weather stations have been painted, moved, and have around them constructions of paved parking lots, buildings, cities.
Bush’s fault.
When that happens to me, it's usually the three heaping handfuls of Reese's Pieces I shovel into my maw before bed.
How could a standard weight fluctuate? Doesn’t that really mean everything else in the universe had their weight fluctuate?
Okay, who picked up the weight without wearing their silk glove?
I can only imagine what that hellish workday must be like . . .
The ID response to this would be to simply state that the designer changed what it weighed and that no further research would be needed.
Folks, ya gotta think "Ted Kennedy" here...
As the universe expands, the atoms move farther apart; and so do the subatomic particles of the atom, so the distance between centers of two masses changes, so the gravitational attraction is reduced, so the apparent mass decreases, but due to higher geometries involved. the changes are not the same in all directions...but this also changes rotational and orbital speeds, which changes the centrifugal and centripetal forces, which...but...,which also implies that..., and then...,THEREFORE,...,if God so wills it.
My 14-year-old son just suggested that the weight differential might be caused by the decay of radioactive isotopes in the material. What say you?
p.s. yes, we homeschool.
The nice thing about standards is there are so many to choose from. How many troy ounces in a kilogram? Figure platinum is what, 2000 an ounce?
A fellow could have a pretty good time in Vegas with that thing..
My first question would be, how "exact" were the copies by the technology of the day? Same proportion of isotopes? Same batch of metals? Were allowances made for environmental effects of the measuring instruments made?
In the past 100 years, how many different instruments were used to measure the copies? Again, were any allowances made for new sets of inaccuracies of the new instruments?
I think we need a yearly weigh-in on all the kilograms, done with the same instrument, and the same person. We'd have a much better handle on things after about 20 years of more detailed data.
If they'll cover my first-class travel and accommodations and a decent per-diem, I'll happily travel all over the world all year long to measure those cylinders. But I think I can save them some money if they just wet-lease a Gulfstream G5 for me. That way I can travel just like your average liberal.
With the price of platinum up, Maybe some of the keepers have been shaving them for profit.... ;-)
I suspect it has to do with cleaning methods, which have accumulated errors over the decades. (Look at when the comparisons were made: three times since manufacture 1889, 1950, and 1990.
It’s a case of quantum fluctuation induced by cosmic rays obviously. Scientists my hairy......
WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING NOW, before the polar bears and rainforests float away.I just need something to blame it on. Honest! I can prove it. I just need a million dollar grant and some nobel prize money.
Where is the US sample housed? Looks like being in a mountainous country produces greater gain in mass. Maybe a radiation effect? Cosmic rays? Panspermia?