Ok so scientists didn’t just go to the lab and say hey let’s make the roundest thing ever.  Well kind of but it wasn’t out of the blue it had a background in this project:

The Avogadro project aims to redefine Avogadro’s constant (currently defined by the kilogram — the number of atoms in 12 g of carbon-12) and reverse the relationship so that the kilogram is precisely specified by Avogadro’s constant. This method required creating the most perfect sphere on Earth. It is made out of a single crystal of silicon 28 atoms. By carefully measuring the diameter, the volume can be precisely specified. Since the atom spacing of silicon is well known, the number of atoms in a sphere can be accurately calculated. This allows for a very precise determination of Avogadro’s constant.

Special thanks to Katie Green, Dr. David Farrant, the CSIRO, and the National Measurment Institute for their help. Thanks also to Nessy Hill for filming and reviewing earlier drafts of this video.

There is debate as to whether this is truly the roundest object ever created. The Gravity Probe-B rotors are also spherical with very low tolerances such that they may in fact be rounder.

We hope you enjoy the video and what types of applications do you think this could be used in?  Anything?  Feel free to comment with your ideas.