being redefined.

The kilogram was redefined in 2019; no longer a platinum-based ingot stored in a safe in Paris, defined instead in terms of an electric current. This, I’m told, will make it a more accurate measurement and more reliable in a world which increasingly needs extreme precision.

I guess most of us will have assumed that a kilo is just that, a kilo. 1000 grams. 2.20462 lbs. 0.157473 stone. And, of course, it will continue to be just that. We’ll notice no change as we buy a kilo of rice, or stand on the bathroom scales (sorry, folks!), or worry about our packed suitcases before we check-in for a flight. So, on many levels, the changes will make no difference.

That said, underneath it all, the science, technology and engineering which need the precision to make our new, modern world go around will be more reliable using a measure which is as accurate as we can make it at this time. The experts have reviewed the models, weighed up the benefits, and made the changes. And this means a kilogram is still a kilogram, still recognisable as such. Just more reliable, more useful, and more effective. In one word, better. It’s all about being redefined, isn’t it?