The definition of the kilogram, the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), has not changed in more than 125 years. The kilogram is still defined by the mass of a Pt−Ir cylinder conserved at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Science and technology have progressed to the point where it is likely the kilogram will be redefined in 2018 in terms of a constant of physicsthe Planck constant, which is closely linked to the Avogadro and atomic mass constants. In this article, we illustrate by means of a simple experiment on how analytical chemistry is contributing to this project, how the new definition of the kilogram will be put into practice and what it may mean for chemists. Surprisingly, perhaps, this simple experiment allows us to determine the mass of an aluminum-27 atom, the mass of a carbon-12 atom (and the atomic mass constant), the Avogadro constant, and the Planck constantall with uncertainty less than 1%in close analogy to the way the most accurate experiment of this type achieves an uncertainty of parts in 10 8 . Finally, we point out that a very different area of modern technology, namely voltage and resistance measurements using quantum electrical devices, provides a second high-accuracy way to implement the new definition.The present definition of the kilogram is based on the mass of a cylinder made of a platinum−iridium alloy and placed into service in 1889. Known as the international prototype of the kilogram (IPK), it is conserved at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), in a suburb of Paris ( Figure 1). Since 1889, the kilogram has been defined as "the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram". As a consequence, all mass measurements made in units of the International System of Units, or SI, are traceable to the mass of the IPK. 1 This definition of the kilogram was fit for purpose in the late 19th century, but we can do better today.As the needs of science and technology evolved, additional base units were added to the SI. In particular, the ampere (1954) filled a need to express electrical measurements easily in SI units, and the mole (1971) did the same for analytical and physical chemistry.The SI meter and second have both been redefined in terms of physical constants for many years, 1 and there is no intention to change these definitions in the revised SI. We will see in the following how atomic masses on the one hand and quantum electrical devices on the other also provide a way to redefine the kilogram in terms of physical constants, which are inherently stable and universally accessible. In addition, the two seemingly different approacheschemical and electricalare actually complementary.A simple experiment is described, which serves to make these ideas less abstract. The experiment is interesting in its own right because it shows how a single mass measurement made on the type of analytical balance found in most chemistry laboratories can, when combined with measured or tabulated values of quantities that are independent of mas...