Perfect silicon spheres were developed to redefine the kilogram because the platinum kilogram was changing in weight even in extremely strictly controlled physical conditions. If dust can ruin the platinum kilogram, why are people allowed to touch the silicon version?

Question

How is it that the sphere doesn’t become ‘contaminated’ with extra atoms from skin, clothes or even breath? Or is it just that these contaminants are very easy to clean off afterwards?

In: Physics

Answer 1

The silicone version is no longer the definition of a kilogram. It’s more like an example of a kilogram. If it gets some dust, we can accurately measure how un-kilogramatic it is because we have a non-physical way of describing a kilogram