Avogadro constant and ion accumulation: steps towards a redefinition of the SI unit of mass

摘要

This paper summarizes the activities of the several national metrology institutes and one transnational institute in replacing the kilogram artefact by the mass of a certain number of atoms. This task is based on two different experiments: a very accurate determination of the Avogadro constant, N_(A), and the accumulation of decelerated gold ions, which lead to the atomic mass of silicon and gold respectively. The relative uncertainties reached so far are in the first case two parts in 10~(7), and in the latter of the order of 1% due to the early state of the research work.