Fundamental Constants Are the Future of Measurement Details Written by Adam J. Fleisher Washington, DC - In an essay titled “The end of artefacts, ” Nobel laureate and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) fellow William D. Phillips details how scientists came to realize the original vision of the metric system, or the International System of Units (SI) a system of units “for all times, for all people.” With the redefinition of the kilogram in 2019, the new SI was rightly celebrated as a unifying achievement toward the democratization of science, with NIST and its international partners having collectively led the charge.
This artist s interpretation intends to show small grains of a reference material disappearing or floating away. Also shown are two lasers, red and blue, which represent the two different colored lasers used by our instrument. Also visible are linear molecules of carbon dioxide (collections of three balls), CO 2. Credit: Creative and Printing Services In an essay titled “The end of artefacts, ” Nobel laureate and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) fellow William D. Phillips details how scientists came to realize the original vision of the metric system, or the International System of Units (SI) a system of units “for all times, for all people.” With the redefinition of the kilogram in 2019, the new SI was rightly celebrated as a unifying achievement toward the democratization of science, with NIST and its international partners having collectively led the charge.