Everything is a lie!

      Beginning in 1875, the international standard for the weight of a kilogram was created in the form of a metal cylinder stored in a vault close to Paris, France. Since then, this metal cylinder's weight has been increasing. The textbook definition of mass is the amount of matter in an object. This metal cylinder of platinum and iridium has been used to compared the mass of objects and has been used throughout the world for measurements. This is because the kilogram the standard unit of measurement used to represent mass. Though a very small change is occurring in the mass, scientists point out this change can be make a huge difference in fields such as medicine in which precision is a must. There are forty replicas of this cylinder, and all of the replicas have been gaining mass at different rates over the years. The scientists recognized the causes of this addition of mass are mercury and hydrocarbons in the air surrounding the cylinder. Scientists are trying to correct this addition of mass by treating the cylinder to ultraviolet light and ozone gas (O3). Read more in the article: http://scienceworld.scholastic.com/Chemistry-News/2013/04/is-the-kilogram-gaining-weight
      Though this may not seem like catastrophic news, this news is unsettling. This is almost like physicists discovering the speed of light is not the fastest in the universe. Most areas of chemistry and even in science in general depend on the measure of mass represented in kilograms. Though the changes are small, these annual additions of mass accumulate over the years. Thus if this cylinder and all other replicas are all incorrect in their own way, it could be difficult to find the true weight of a kilogram once again. This could have a wide influence to many areas such as medicine. Personally, I think of space travel and aeronautics in a minuscule, minute miscalculation can cause a disastrous outcome. Thus if we can hope to be correct in advanced and developed areas of science, we need to make sure the basics are entirely correct, like the weight of a kilogram.