Methods and equipment developed as part of the NewKILO Joint Research Project to support the redefinition of the kilogram are presented.
The future definition, scheduled for 2018, will require the unit of mass to be realised in a vacuum, instead being maintained and used in air, which presents some challenges to establish traceability to the mass scale.
This white paper presents the results and impact of research undertaken with regards to storage, transport and transfer of mass standards between air and vacuum, which is critical in establishing traceability of new methods (in vacuum) to existing methods (in air). In parallel, balance manufacturers have developed state-of-the-art mass comparators, such as the M_one, and apparatus to enable the transfer of artefacts under vacuum or inert gas, such as the Artefact Transfer Device (ATD) and Artefact Storage and Transfer Vessel (ASTV). These devices will play an important role in facilitating current and future research to support the redefinition of the kilogram project, and the dissemination of the kilogram after redefinition.
