Abstract. Among the priority tasks in the further development of the International System of Units is the redefinition of the kilogram based on fundamental constants. One of the strategies pursued today is to relate mass to Planck's constant h using the equivalence between mechanical and electrical energies. In this paper, possible experimental approaches in this direction are described. The approach which promises to reach the required uncertainty at the earliest is the concept of the moving-coil watt balance. The status of the different watt balance experiments is reviewed in detail.

Print publication: Issue 6 (December 2003)
Received 10 June 2003
Published 27 November 2003