Kilo gets an update

Bahrain’s Standards and Metrology said the new definition of Kilogram as agreed by scientists from around the world, will go into effect on 20 May 2019 along with other three unit of measures: ampere, mole and Kelvin. The decision as taken on 16 November 2018 at the 26th General Conference on Weights and Measures in Versailles, France.

The move, according to Standards and Metrology Director Mona Alalawi in Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, is expected to have no immediate consequence in the everyday life. Alalawi said that the change aims to have greater accuracy for scientific advancement. The kilogram is one of the basic units and is defined for more than 120 years as the mass.

The prototype kilogram made of a platinum/iridium alloy is preserved at the International Bureau of weights and measures in France.