The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) is planning to review four units of measure, including the crucial kilogram, at a meeting that's currently ongoing from October 16 to 20.

If scientists had sacred objects, this would be one of them: a single, closely guarded 137-year-old cylinder of metal, housed in a vault outside of Paris. It is a prototype that precisely defines a ...

Physics is a funny thing. Despite dictating the behaviors and states of everything from atoms to stars, our interpretation of its effects are rooted in very human constructs. Meters, amperes and ...

The kilogram finally has a precise meaning despite defying a rigorous definition for over a century. Delegates of the General Conference on Weights and Measures unanimously voted Nov. 16 in favor of a ...

If several scientists get their way, a 2.2-pound hunk of metal -- the international prototype of the kilogram -- may soon be out of style. Like its six basic-units-of-measurement siblings before it -- ...