This is an interesting development:
It's a two-story-tall contraption that looks one part Star Trek, one part Wallace and Gromit. Briefly put, it measures the power needed to generate an electromagnetic force that balances the gravitational pull on a kilogram of mass.
The general answer is that humans have always needed to quantify and standardize, to make their world more certain. Without a standard kilogram - roughly 2.2 pounds - how would scientists know their measurements of mass were accurate? Without a standard meter, how would a manufacturer make a ruler and know that it is precise?
The cool upshot of this would be a device, which would only get smaller as time goes on, people could use to create exactly one kilogram of force. Similar to the atomic clock broadcasts that are used to calibrate watches, the electric kilogram could be used to calibrate scales to arbitrary accuracy.
Meth labs around the world are rejoicing! :)
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