jtotheizzoe: The Not-So-Perfect Kilogram and Why the Metric System Might Be Screwed The official kilogram standard, a precise chunk of platinum and iridium named “Le Grand K”, has been losing weight. Housed at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, this weight standard (or really, a few replicas of it, since it’s best not to handle this one), is used to calculate the basis of other standards like the joule, which happens to be pretty important when it comes to technology. This could mean slight, but significant problems for key standards in a world where technology performance is measured in atoms and femtosomethings. Where is the weight going? The carefully handled replicas could be gaining weight, making Le Grand K seem lighter, or it could actually be losing gas from inside its seemingly sold metal interior. Yep, even metal does that. Scientists around the world are trying to come up with a different way to calculate a kilogram than a hunk of metal, but for now it’s all we’ve got. Talk about a weight problem. (via Mental Floss)
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jtotheizzoe:

The Not-So-Perfect Kilogram and Why the Metric System Might Be Screwed

The official kilogram standard, a precise chunk of platinum and iridium named “Le Grand K”, has been losing weight. Housed at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, this weight standard (or really, a few replicas of it, since it’s best not to handle this one), is used to calculate the basis of other standards like the joule, which happens to be pretty important when it comes to technology.

This could mean slight, but significant problems for key standards in a world where technology performance is measured in atoms and femtosomethings. Where is the weight going? The carefully handled replicas could be gaining weight, making Le Grand K seem lighter, or it could actually be losing gas from inside its seemingly sold metal interior. Yep, even metal does that.

Scientists around the world are trying to come up with a different way to calculate a kilogram than a hunk of metal, but for now it’s all we’ve got. Talk about a weight problem.

(via Mental Floss)

jtotheizzoe:

How We See Color

One of the most mind-boggling parts of color theory is the observation that two different colors of light, when mixed, can create a new color. For instance, red and green light shining together, like from the pixels of a TV or computer screen, give the perception of yellow. This is a phenomenon called “additive color” mixing, illustrated below:

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It turns out that the word “perception” is the key there. Different colors of light each have their own characteristic wavelength and the yellow coming from your monitor is still red and green wavelengths traveling simultaneously toward your eye. The perception of yellow, or any “in-between” color, comes from simultaneously activating more than one kind of “cone” color receptor in the back of your eye. See how yellow, which by itself would have a wavelength of around 570 nm, falls between the red and green cone receptor ranges:

That explanation up there is thanks to another great video by the folks at TED Ed. Check out my previous vision posts here, including OK Go and Sesame Street explaining primary colors, a fun test of your ability to tell colors apart, and an exploration of the idea that Vincent Van Gogh may have been colorblind.

Also, XKCD did a really fun color survey to discover what people in different cultures and from different backgrounds called different hues. The results are amazing (below), be sure to read about the whole project here.

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