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user-inactivated · 4113 days ago · link · · parent · post: Atomic clock measures time on the basis of an atom's mass.
Good read. I wonder what exactly the practical implications of this may be? I've always thought it odd that we measured mass this way, but I didn't realize mass was the only thing still tied to an anachronism.Chu agrees: “This paper opens up the possibility that the standard of mass can be redefined in term of an atomic quantity instead of a lump of metal,” he says, referring to the chunk of platinum-iridium kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris, France, that serves as the prototype kilogram for the International System of Units (SI).