Where is the standard of measurement kept?

Answer 1

There are several standards of measurement: weight, length, time to name a few. The standard for weight is the kilogram. The standard was made in London and has been stored in Paris since 1889. See this NPR article for a recent update (8/20/2009): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112003322 The standard for length is the meter, or metre. Until 1983, this standard was a platinum-iridium bar that rested next to the kilogram standard at the French Academy of Sciences. In 1983, the metre was redefined as the distance travelled by light in free space in 1⁄299,792,458 of a second. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter The standard for time is the second. "Currently, the international unit of time, the second, is defined in terms of radiation emitted by caesium atoms." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time Most standards are abstracts, with qualities or characteristics not affixed to a particular object or instance, such as a number. These standards have no place to be kept, except in the imagination of those who conceive of them.