Tools that alter us

Technology

Machines, systems and inventions that changed not only what people do, but what they expect.

265 entriesPage 12 of 12Context and sources

In this room

Follow the subject sideways.

Cards are connected by subject and by mood. Move through the complete sequence below, or cross into a neighbouring part of the archive.

89Drive
17Stillness
248Wonder
Q2012
WonderScience

A Kibble balance realizes the kilogram by balancing weight against electromagnetic force measured with quantum electrical standards tied to the fixed value of Planck's constant.

The balance works in two linked modes. One matches a mass's weight with magnetic force on a current-carrying coil; the other moves the coil to calibrate the same system through induced voltage. Quantum standards make the electrical measurements traceable to Planck's constant, whose value was fixed in the 2019 SI. A suitably equipped metrology institute can now realize mass from a reproducible recipe instead of comparing everything to one ageing object.