Accurate to one yoctogram

Atom, With Protons Wikimedia Commons

A group of scientists at the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology have created a new scale (and process for weighing) that increases the accuracy of small-scale, um, scales to new heights. Their new scale, which uses short nanotubes at very low temperatures, was able to measure the vibration of items down to a single yoctogram, one septillionth of a gram. For some (possible helpful) scale (that word again!), a single proton weighs 1.7 yoctograms. The scale could be used in the future for medical diagnostics as well as research. [via Nature]

5 Comments

Great, now I can bemoan my weight to the 30'th decimal.

Badum-tsssss.

You be funny, ROFL, thank you.

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Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.
Open your mind and see!

I'd like to buy two yoctograms of proton, please. I'm making a new flavored milkshake. What's shipping on that?

You know; I don't even want to convert that for SAE adaptation. And as for metric; who the hell thought it would be a good idea to set the weight of a single proton at something stupid like 1.7 anything? See, that's what SAE is really great for. Instead of the metric 1.7 yoctograms, we just call it 1 something or other, or 2 something or other. Seriously, it ain't like anyone's gonna run around with an electron micrometer measuring them and then re-installing them in my car headlight. A 2 something or other wrench will still work just fine on a 1.7 yoctogram proton. Geez.



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