From: Ted <ted@...>
Date: 2002-12-12T15:45:02+09:00
Subject: Re: Proper Type for Dollar Amount

this definition refers to a cesium atom in its ground state at a temperature of 0 K):

      The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom.

What an interesting page!  Thank you.
However, 0K is unattainable.  What then?  Extrapolation?

> Daniel Carrera <dcarrera@math.umd.edu> wrote:
> > Ha!
> > This would make some interesting definitions:
> 
> > Speed of light (c): 299,792,458 meters per second.
> 
> > Meter (m):  1/299,792,458th of the distance that light travels in 1
> >             second.
> 
> > Second (s): The time that light takes to travel 299,792,458 meters.
> 
> Well, we all know that one of them should be wrong, right?  In this case
> it is the last one (for example, see
> http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/second.html).
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Bill
>