Update: The redefinition of the SI got approved by the 54 member states present at the conference. Effective from May the 20th 2019 (World Metrology Day) all current base units of measurement will be based on fundamental physical constants.
The 26th meeting of the CGPM will take place in Versailles from 13 to 16 November 2018. On Friday Nov the 16th there will be a vote on “Draft resolution A”, in essence the redefinition of the kilogram, the ampere, the kelvin and the mole based on physical constants. “Most notably, this will mark the end of the last remaining physical artefact in the SI system – a cylinder of metal known as the International Prototype of the Kilogram.”
For anyone who is interested, there will be a webcast on Friday:
Here are a couple of interesting links and files:
- Draft Resolution A
- Information for users about the proposed revision of the SI
- Press Kit
- Open session time table
Personally I am very excited about this and wanted to share it with everyone who might not have heard about it yet. It won’t make any difference in your everyday life but for scientific research it makes life a whole lot easier in some ways. If the vote falls in favour of the resolution it will mark the first time that all units of measurement can and will be defined by fundamental constants.
What do you guys think?
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And also the most highly decorated source of news out there :
On a more serious note: I think it is great that Paul shares this topic with his audience who might not have heard about this otherwise