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Mass Metrology pp 335–364Cite as

Redefining the Unit of Mass

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Part of the book series: Springer Series in Materials Science ((SSMATERIALS,volume 155))

Abstract

The problem in defining a measurement unit in terms of an artefact is the long time constancy of the quantity contained in the artefact. Maxwell James Clark was perhaps the first scientist to oppose to defining a unit in terms of an artefact. He said “If we wish to obtain standard of length, time and mass, which shall be absolutely permanent, we must not seek them in dimension, motion, and mass of a planet but in terms of wavelength, period of vibration and the absolute mass of the imperishable and unalterable and perfectly similar molecules”. Max Planck went even further and advocated that units of measurements should be defined in terms of fundamental constants of nature instead of atoms or molecules.

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    S. V. Gupta

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Gupta, S.V. (2019). Redefining the Unit of Mass. In: Mass Metrology. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 155. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12465-6_12

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