An animated adventure for the masses

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released ‘Mass Hysteria’, the third instalment in its animated online series featuring the SI Superheroes. The episode sees the nefarious Major Uncertainty kidnap Monsieur Kilogram, putting the world’s measurements of mass in jeopardy.

The concept of a superhero series based around the International System of Units may seem a bit silly, but the show does in fact provide an accessible way to explain how accurately measuring mass is important in the world around us. Featuring characters such as Meter Man, Dr Kelvin and Professor Second, the series shows how the power of measurement can be used to perform amazing feats of science and engineering.

The superheroes’ latest episode explores one of the efforts to redefine the kilogram in terms of natural forces called the watt balance, a complex machine that uses electric and magnetic forces to balance a 1 kg mass against the Earth’s gravity. Precise measurements related to these forces can then be used to provide a consistent definition of the amount of mass in the kilogram.

Scientists at NIST and elsewhere have been working for years to reduce the errors in their measurement of this quantity to the point where the watt balance can take over for the international prototype kilogram. Once this process is complete, the kilogram will have been freed from its dependence on a physical object.

Scientists are now closing in on their goal, and it is widely anticipated that the kilogram will be redefined in 2018. When this happens, anyone with the right technical expertise and equipment will be able to determine the mass of a kilogram for themselves — no superpowers required.

Image caption: Monsieur Kilogram, a character in NIST’s League of SI Superheroes animated online series, is able to determine the mass of any object simply by holding it. ©NIST

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