The big science-y news of last week was the vote to officially redefine of the kilogram-- see the stories in Physics World and Physics Today for more detail--after decades of work by physicists on ...

Out with the old — kilogram, that is. Scientists will soon ditch a specialized hunk of metal that defines the mass of a kilogram. Oddly enough, every measurement of mass made anywhere on Earth is tied ...

Sealed under a trio of nested glass bell jars, a gleaming metal cylinder sits in a temperature-controlled vault in the bowels of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sèvres, France.

Once a year, a century-old ritual unfolds at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) outside Paris. It takes place in the basement of the BIPM’s main lab building, which houses a vault ...