Radiolab - Less Than Kilogram

In today’s story, which originally aired in 2014, we meet a very special cylinder. It's the gold standard (or, in this case, the platinum-iridium standard) for measuring mass. For decades it's been coddled and cared for and treated like a tiny king. But, as we learn from writer Andrew Marantz, things change—even things that were specifically designed to stay the same. Special thanks to Ken Alder, Ari Adland, Eric Perlmutter, Terry Quinn and Richard Davis.And to the musical group, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, for the use of their song “Horses and Hounds.”We have some exciting news! In the “Zoozve” episode, Radiolab named its first-ever quasi-moon, and now it's your turn! Radiolab has teamed up with The International Astronomical Union to launch a global naming contest for one of Earth’s quasi-moons. This is your chance to make your mark on the heavens. Vote on your favorites soon, check here for details: https://radiolab.org/moonSign-up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected]. Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Duration: 28m
Broadcast on: 29 Nov 2024
Audio Format: other

Special thanks to Ken Alder, Ari Adland, Eric Perlmutter, Terry Quinn and Richard Davis.

And to the musical group, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, for the use of their song “Horses and Hounds.”

We have some exciting news! In the “Zoozve” episode, Radiolab named its first-ever quasi-moon, and now it's your turn! Radiolab has teamed up with The International Astronomical Union to launch a global naming contest for one of Earth’s quasi-moons. This is your chance to make your mark on the heavens. Vote on your favorites soon, check here for details: https://radiolab.org/moon

Sign-up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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RIDILEB is supported by AT&T. We all love to connect via video calls or texts. Right now, at AT&T, you can get the new iPhone 18 Pro for $0 with iPhone trade-in. Any condition. It has the ultimate pro camera system and big leap in battery life, so you can turn this deal into a long-lasting connection. Learn how you can trade in your iPhone for the new iPhone 18 Pro requires trade-in of iPhone 14 or higher, excluding iPhone 16E, an eligible plan. Terms and restrictions apply, subject to change, visit an AT&T store for details. Hey, it's Lataf, this is Radio Lab. I'm thinking today in the aftermath of American Thanksgiving about all the people who got together with their families, sat down for a nice little meal, and then, oh God, politics came up somehow, and they found there was just something they couldn't agree on. And you can't even reckon, like, how does this other person not even understand the basic facts of the situation? And so if you're leaving this holiday feeling like you need something concrete, something apolitical, something objective in this moment, this episode is for you. It's an episode we originally broadcast in 2014 about a project to make something ever-lasting. Something that everyone everywhere could agree to follow. And we actually have a kind of a dramatic update at the end, so stay tuned for that. Here you are, less than kilogram. Wait, you're listening to Radio Lab from WNYC. Hey, I'm Chad, I'm Ron. I'm Robert Krollich. This is Radio Lab, the podcast. And this? I actually brought a list. Okay, why don't you share with me your list? Where is this thing? This is Andrew Marantz. He's a writer and editor at the New Yorker magazine. I might have gotten lost. So occasionally pops onto our show. Maybe you were mugged by... Ah, here it is. And he recently got obsessed with a list of measurements. Base units, they're called. They're SI base units. The system international, you know. So let me do it this way. Have you ever wondered how long an inch is? I'm exactly how long it is. Well, I know, I just look at a ruler. Well, but how do you know that your ruler and my ruler do I have the same amount of inch space or that someone in China, that their inches, our inches, your inches, my inch? I haven't really thought about it, but I'm just assumed that there's like a master inch somewhere? Me too. I say it in French for a reason and it would feel at the moment.

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