The kg is dead, long live the kg

Will this be the last video I make about SI units? Quite possibly. There's something about being so precise and defining the systems within which science works. When we can more accurately and routinely measure a kilogram, a mole, a kelvin and an ampere, then we can make better observations, we can better detect anomalies and improve our theories. That is why this is so important to me.

Special thanks to Patreon supporters:
Donal Botkin, Michael Krugman, Ron Neal, Nathan Hansen, James M Nicholson, Terrance Shepherd, Stan Presolski

Additional graphics by Ignat Berbeci

[irokosalei]

Meanwhile the US: "this screen is 3 sticks wide and weighs 5 stones. "

[RubenALopes]

Meanwhile at a civil engineer's paper:
"Yeah, pi is totally 3..."

[dexter]

Meter - Speed of light
Second - Hyperfine transition frequency of cesium
Kilogram - Planck constant
Ampere - Charge of an electron
Kelvin - Boltzmann constant
Mole - Avogadro's number

[Kaskobi]

Damn. I thought I’d be able to finally say I’ve lost weight.

[connarcomstock]

2018 Patch Notes - Slightly adjusted the plank constant.

This is a QOL change for a small number of people doing the Science profession. It should have no effect on most players.

[gedstrom]

I would like to see two teams, working independently with these new definitions, each create a 1kg mass. Then bring the 2 masses together on a balance and see just how close they are!

[lrimunlmorin]

"no longer tied to physical objects"
Ironic that this should be the result of nearly two centuries of material science.

[thejesuschrist]

fundamental constants in nature > physical artifacts

[Vexy]

Me: So, does this change anything?
Veritasium: Well yes, but actually, no

[_xxxx_]

Seems odd this was recommended to me now considering the thumbnail and the current royal circumstances

[KLScience]

The world: we redefined Kg
USA: what’s Kg..?

[funkyman]

It is funny because the definition of a pound is based on a decimal number of the kilogram, so the pound will be changing in turn as well

[AJD...]

I had strayed away from real physics for 3-4 years now. Today I picked up my old physics textbook and started to read from the very first page. Getting to "units" reminded me of how Kilogram was going to change as I had heard a couple years back. This video cleared that up and so much more. I had always loved science, especially physics. But I could never put it in words the way Derek did here. These things we're doing are truly the pinnacle of humanity.

[beactivebehappy]

I had *weighted* so long for this moment!!

[Gintokikreuz]

8:10 "No longer tied to physical objects" Veritasium uploads his consciousness to the internet.

[villelepoaho]

This is like releasing a new update to a game, with some bug fixes.

[muhaimin]

I really enjoyed the part where you talked about the importance of making precise observations and our scientific achievements as a species, cos I totally agree with you. Thanks for making this video.

[kalliopi]

i love your excitement in science! it matches with mine and i get happy everytime i watch one of your videos! thank you! :)

[quickknowledge]

Textbook publishers are salivating at the opportunity to change just a couple digits because of this new standard and calling that a new version they can charge a couple hundred bucks on.

[markoap]

"Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so"
-Galileo Galilei