Thinking about weight and other matters.

image taken from The international Bureau of Weight and Measures

The kilogram is the last remaining base unit of the SI that is defined by a physical object and although there are many copies of it, the one that matters is housed at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures [or to be correct - Bureau International des Poids et Measures] in Serves, south west of Paris.

The international prototype and it's six official copies are kept in a vault there under lock and key.Made in 1880s the original and four of it's copies stem from that date [for some reason the Bureau does not know or reveal their precise birth dates].From these copies a further 80 copies have been made and been distributed internationally for all to measure against.

To dispel ambiguities concerning the kilogram a resolution was passed at the 3rd meeting of the CGPM [General Congress of Weight and Measure] in 1901 concerning the meaning of weight which was used sometimes for mass or as a mechanical force.

So to be clear the CGPM declared,

"1.The kilogram is the unit of mass; it is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram;

2.The word "weight" denotes a quantity of the same nature as a "force": the weight of a body is the product of its mass and the acceleration due to gravity; in particular, the standard weight of a body is the product of its mass and the standard acceleration due to gravity;

3.The value adopted in the International Service of Weights and Measures for the standard acceleration due to gravity is 980.665 cm/s², value already stated in the laws of some countries."

Needless to say the maintenance of the kilogram and therefore the cleaning and accumulation of surface contaminants are of concern.Curiously all seven have been treated the same and kept in similar conditions yet the masses amongst them are drifting apart.The result is that the kilogram has on an average lost weight by roughly 50 micrograms or the weight of a fingerprint.The trouble is no one knows exactly why.

This 'news' was revealed to me by The Guardian.

Which takes me onto Buckminster Fuller and Cedric Price and the interest in the lightweight but I think I'll save that for another post.

Richard Serra

Richard Serra at the Gargosian London is a must see.The sheer weight of the pieces is mind boggling.Even the smaller wall pieces weigh a mere 300 kg,now just try lifting that up. Afterall it is comparable to the weight of between 14-15 suitcases based on standard airline baggage allowance. [I have travel on the mind]

To get the larger sculptures in, the gallery had to close the road for two weeks and modify the gallery by both strengthening it and knocking down walls , which have since been rebuilt. 

No doubt Serra has his detractors and his work is not for the faint hearted, the show weighs physically around 300 tonnes.

1 tonne = 1000 kg

If interested please check out Richard Serra on PBS Art:21 

not just sheep

My cat Humphrey is a serious shedder of fur, made worse recently due to stress from builders, so I've frequently wondered what he would look like as a sweater.In fact, I sometimes wish he knew how to use the vacuum cleaner.

Clearly I'm not the first with these thoughts so it was a delight to come across the photographer Erwan Fichou Dogwool series and the blog  on the site if it's hip, it's here

Dominic Harris and the UFO

With all the recent newspaper articles on UFO's I thought I might put up a piece of work done by a former student which I just think is great.

and on youtube

He will be giving a talk at the Bartlett for Simon Herron on the 3rd of November 2008, as will Max Fordham a seminal environmental engineer.The talks will take place in the Anatomy J Z Young Lecture Theatre or maybe I should write the Anatomy Etcetera Theatre starting at 16.00.

what's in a word

The word etcetera is one I am fond of.I remember first hearing it as a child when the King of Siam or rather Yul Bryner repeated it endlessly in the movie 'The King & I'.

I particularly like the idea of it's inclusive nature if not entirely specific,it is implied. I hadn't realised that it was common practice for royalty to use this word to effectively save on reciting all their titles and that even Oliver Cromwell had put it on a coin.

I found this out courtesy of Wikipedia which in many ways is a marvelous free resource. 

Now, I just need to check this out to see if it is true :) In any case I like it.

a place for etcetera

I'm going to think of this as a place of etcetera.