When the explorer drills the ice to make a physical measurement of thickness, he will use the hole to lower a 4kg conductivity-temperature device (CTD) into the ocean below.

BBC: Arctic team targets key ice data

However, he says Quantum Mechanics prevents anyone from claiming it would be smaller than a Planck length, a length of measurement so miniscule that it would make a normal-sized atom look like an outsized sun.

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There's even a secondary measurement we can make to further prove the notion, and it can be done with today's technology.

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He added there had been a record number of officers on the street and a 32% reduction in crime, as well as record clear-up rates for crime and said : "For most people the measurement you make in terms of the effectiveness of the police service is the visibility of a police presence in our streets".

BBC: First minister's questions