History of the metric system levels of the krypton 86 atom as the new standard for the metre. The standard metre artefact was retired. In 1960, Giorgi's proposals were adopted as the basis of the "Système International d'Unités" (International System of Units), the SI. This initial definition of the SI included six base units, the metre, kilogram, second, ampere, degree Kelvin and candela, and sixteen coherent derived units. The evolution of the SI after its publication in 1960 has seen the addition of a seventh base unit, the "mole", and six more derived units, the "pascal" for pressure, the "gray", "sievert" and "becquerel" for radiation,
2019 redefinition of SI base units seven base units whose definitions are unconstrained by that of any other unit and another twenty-two named units derived from these base units. The metre was redefined in terms of a wavelength of krypton-86 radiation, making it derivable from universal natural phenomena, but the kilogram remained defined in terms of a physical prototype, leaving it the only artefact upon which the SI unit definitions depend. Although designed for long-term stability, the masses of the kilogram prototype and its secondary copies have shown small variations over time relative to each other, and they are not thought to be adequate for the