[HN Gopher] Le Grand K (2018)
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       Le Grand K (2018)
        
       Author : geox
       Score  : 12 points
       Date   : 2024-03-04 18:46 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
        
       | ThrowawayTestr wrote:
       | I know the kibble balance is objectively superior but I was
       | really rooting for the Avogadro project.
        
         | kevmoo1 wrote:
         | I heard the explanation that one was from physics and one was
         | from chemistry.
         | 
         | And they were both important to get the error bars low enough
         | so they could move over with confidence.
         | 
         | See https://youtu.be/KBZD3tFny_E?si=VyqjpainWVgbY_NF
        
       | unwind wrote:
       | Replicated by Adam Savage (from "Mythbusters" and overall maker
       | genius) here: [1]. Haven't had time to see it yet, it's fairly
       | new (posted 12 days ago).
       | 
       | [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW1NuVmCCaw
        
       | favourable wrote:
       | This is how objective fact is made objective: comparison. When I
       | say 'The Eiffel Tower in in Paris, France', this is an undeniable
       | and objective fact. You can't refute it, unless you compare it to
       | another statement: 'The Eiffel Tower is in Berlin, Germany'. It
       | could be. The tower was probably deconstructed and shipped in
       | parts and re-assembled there. The only way to ascertain this
       | counter fact is to go there and prove it, comparing your facts
       | against each other.
        
       | soneca wrote:
       | > _"Rather than rely on a platinum cylinder in a bell jar in
       | Paris, eggheads in the world of measurements decided to anchor
       | the future kilogram to Planck's constant. This is a fixed
       | quantity tied in with E=MC2 and quantum theory, specifying the
       | amount of energy carried by a single particle of light, or
       | photon. And that's just the most extremely simplified version."_
       | 
       | Can someone provide a not-so-simplified version that is still
       | understandable by a layman of the current definition of a
       | kilogram?
        
         | pvg wrote:
         | Another comment mentioned it but the instrument used has a
         | decently detailed Wikipedia page:
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibble_balance
         | 
         | The name and appearance might make you think it's some sort of
         | flux capacitor for dogs but that is apparently not its
         | (primary) purpose.
        
           | perihelions wrote:
           | That's some deeply unfulfilled nominative determinism
           | potential.
           | 
           | edit: unless kibble is cognate to _quibble_ , and precision
           | metrology is the ultimate form of quibbling?
        
             | pvg wrote:
             | Looks like the etymology of 'kibble' is unknown, much like
             | the etymology of 'dog' so the whole thing is definitely
             | suspicious.
             | 
             | https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=kibble
        
         | kevmoo1 wrote:
         | This is THE explanation.
         | 
         | It's long, but it's AMAZING!
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBZD3tFny_E
        
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       (page generated 2024-03-04 23:01 UTC)