And that mastery is exactly what the kilogram needs. You see, the metric system of measurement is maintained to an incredibly precise standard. Right now, the kilo is the only type of metric measurement that still has a physical prototype -- precisely weighted lumps of material against which all other produced weights are tested. The daddy of them all is the international prototype kilogram, or "Le Grand K," an expertly measured bundle of platinum and iridium located just outside of Paris under lock and key. But it appears that those precautions still aren't enough, because the special K is somehow managing to lose weight. That's bad news for scientists, because they've technically agreed that this doesn't mean the kilogram is getting lighter, but that the entire Universe is getting fatter.
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
If only there was some type of round shape we could call that ...
However, if scientists could obtain a silicon sphere which weighs exactly one kilogram down to the molecule, they then could count the number of atoms in that sphere and come up with an unalterable universal standard once and for all. This is where Leistner comes in, because he could possibly create a perfect ball of silicon. He thinks of this craft as "massaging atoms." It's a painstaking, months-long project which involves polishing a ball so delicately that he's knocking a mere few atoms off the surface each time, and then feeling for irregularities with his fingertips, which are supposedly so sensitive that he can feel molecular structure by touch alone.