Scientists in Australia are creating a perfect pair of balls. The balls must be perfectly round, requiring much expertise in ball-polishing. Apparently Australians are good at that kind of thing.
Interestingly the Australian balls are intended to replace a French rod from 1889, which, not surprisingly, is deteriorating due to age. (No word in the article as to whether excessive polishing is to blame, but on the other hand most rods don't last 118 years.)
Oh, almost forgot: this is part of updating the international scientific definition of the kilogram. The crystal silicon spheres are replacing the platinum-alloy rod. What did you think I was talking about?
1 comment:
Way to keep that PG rating!
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