Atomic mass
The atomic mass (relative isotopic mass) is defined as the mass of a single atom, which can only be one isotope (nuclide) at a time, and is not an abundance-weighted average, as in the case of relative atomic mass/atomic weight. The atomic mass or relative isotopic mass of each isotope and nuclide of a chemical element is therefore a number that can in principle be measured to a very great precision, since every specimen of such a nuclide is expected to be exactly identical to every other specimen, as all atoms of a given type in the same energy state, and every specimen of a particular nuclide, are expected to be exactly identical in mass to every other specimen of that nuclide. For example, every atom of oxygen-16 is expected to have exactly the same atomic mass (relative isotopic mass) as every other atom of oxygen-16.
Atomic mass unit
One consequence of this change is that the current defined relationship between the mass of the C atom, the dalton, the kilogram, and the Avogadro number will no longer be valid. One of the following must change:
The wording of the ninth SI Brochure implies that the first statement remains valid, which means that the second is no longer true. The molar mass constant, while still with great accuracy remaining 1 g/mol, is no longer exactly equal to that.
Given that the unified atomic mass unit is one twelfth the mass of one atom of carbon-12, meaning the mass of such an atom is 12 u, it follows that there are only approximately "N" atoms of carbon-12 in 0.012 kg of carbon-12. This can be expressed mathematically as