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Now I’m imagining a “standard room” in France held at the reference temperature (and which the meter long rod and the kilogram weight would be stored, of course).


I'm pretty sure that was a pop culture reference that nobody should be expected to get.

Protip for GP: not all nerds watch shows about nerds. Standalone humor comments don't play well here to begin with.


Of course, they haven't measured it since the 1960s because the body heat of a scientist going in to measure it changes it a little bit.


However or whenever they measure the prototype kilogram, it weighs[0] exactly 1kg by definition.

[0] Well, not any more as the kilogram was redefined in 2019


This was a joke on the TV show Community, but it was exactly what you picture.


Does the length of the metre long rod not vary with temperature?


It does. If you are using that rod to measure something else, or calibrate another rod, you are supposed to keep it at a given fixed temperature.

Also, the standard of length was changed quite a while ago to one based on the definition of the second, and the speed of light.

Edit: here are the latest standards https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_redefinition_of_the_SI_ba...


That’s why they put the meter in the room.




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