scholarly journals New SI and precision measurements: an interview with Tianchu Li

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 1837-1840
Author(s):  
Jin Wang

Abstract On 13–16 November 2018, the 26th General Conference of Weights and Measures (CGPM) was held in Paris. The conference adopted Resolution A on ‘Revision of the International System of Units (SI).’ According to Resolution A: four of the SI basic units, namely kilograms, amps, kelvin and mole, are defined by the Planck constant h, the basic charge constant e, the Boltzmann constant k and the Avogadro constant NA, respectively. This establishes the basic quantities and units in SI on a series of constants. The new SI was officially launched on 20 May 2019. This is the most significant change and a milestone in the history of metrology since the Metre Convention was signed in 20 May 1875. Professor Tianchu Li, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, has been working on time and frequency standards for 37 years. In this interview, Prof. Li reviews the quantization and constant evolutions of the second and meter, and introduces the redefinitions of ampere, kelvin, kilogram and mole, and their significance for precision measurements.

Author(s):  
Ian M. Mills ◽  
Peter J. Mohr ◽  
Terry J. Quinn ◽  
Barry N. Taylor ◽  
Edwin R. Williams

We review the proposal of the International Committee for Weights and Measures (Comité International des Poids et Mesures, CIPM), currently being considered by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (Conférences Générales des Poids et Mesures, CGPM), to revise the International System of Units (Le Système International d'Unitès, SI). The proposal includes new definitions for four of the seven base units of the SI, and a new form of words to present the definitions of all the units. The objective of the proposed changes is to adopt definitions referenced to constants of nature, taken in the widest sense, so that the definitions may be based on what are believed to be true invariants. In particular, whereas in the current SI the kilogram, ampere, kelvin and mole are linked to exact numerical values of the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram, the magnetic constant (permeability of vacuum), the triple-point temperature of water and the molar mass of carbon-12, respectively, in the new SI these units are linked to exact numerical values of the Planck constant, the elementary charge, the Boltzmann constant and the Avogadro constant, respectively. The new wording used expresses the definitions in a simple and unambiguous manner without the need for the distinction between base and derived units. The importance of relations among the fundamental constants to the definitions, and the importance of establishing a mise en pratique for the realization of each definition, are also discussed.


ACTA IMEKO ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Schwartz ◽  
Michael Borys

At its 24<sup>th</sup> meeting in October 2011 the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) adopted a Resolution on the possible future revision of the International System of Units (SI). This paper provides an overview of the proposed changes to the SI, the focus being on the proposed redefinition of the kilogram and possible consequences for mass metrology.<br />


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-16
Author(s):  
Teodor Ognean

At the 26th meeting of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) held on 13‐16 November 2018 at Versailles, France, the new International System of Units (SI) was established. Following the CGPM’s decision, the new SI units were established based upon a set of seven defining constants. This set of constants is the most fundamental feature in the definition of the entire system of units. What is truly remarkable about the new SI is the fact that all measurement units, except the amount of substance mole and Avogadro’s number NA , are defined based on the unperturbed ground-state hyperfine transition frequency of the caesium 133 atom <mml:math display="inline"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Δ</mml:mi> <mml:mi>ν</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Cs</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> equal to 9 192 631 770 Hz. This article, based on dimensional analysis, presents the possibility of connecting the Avogadro’s number NA and the mole, to the transition frequency <mml:math display="inline"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>Δν</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>Cs</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> .


Author(s):  
Barry N. Taylor

A revised International System of Units (SI) is expected to be established by the 26th General Conference on Weights and Measures when it convenes in November 2018 and to be put into practice starting on 20 May 2019, World Metrology Day. In consequence, the article published in this journal in 2011, “The Current SI Seen from the Perspective of the Proposed New SI,” is updated in this paper, which provides an opportunity to again demonstrate the usefulness of the quantity calculus in dealing with quantities and units. The quantity calculus and the seven defining constants of the current and revised SI are reviewed, and expressions for the seven current and revised SI base units are given. Relationships between the magnitudes of revised and current SI units and expressions for the numerical values of current SI defining constants expressed in revised SI units are also obtained using the quantity calculus.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 659-664
Author(s):  
Arno R. Hohn ◽  
Alfred B. Amler ◽  
Paul S. Bergeson ◽  
Harvey R. Gold ◽  
Stewart L. Griggs ◽  
...  

Because of the increasing international use of the SI system (International System of Units) in medicine, the Committee on Hospital Care has written this statement to familiarize pediatricians with this concept. The current state of the system, its derivation, purported advantages, and controversial aspects are described; and the Committee has made specific recommendations for consideration regarding its future use and development. BACKGROUND The British Imperial System of Weights used in the United States today derives from a variety of ancient cultures. A Roman contribution is the use of the awkward number 12 as a base. Royal decree established the yard as the distance from the tip of the nose to the end of the thumb of King Henry I. The inch was based on the size of three grains of barley "dry and round." Equally illogically derived units evolved to eventually form the irrational English "system."1 The metric system with its "base-10" or "decimal" system derived its units of mass and volume from its units of length, thus correlating its basic units to each other. The need for further refinement of metrics and a single worldwide and interdisciplinary system of measurements led to the development of the International System of Units (le Systeme International d'Unités) with the international abbreviation "SI." This is sometimes referred to as "the modern metric system" and is said to complete the process of metrication.2 Seventeen countries, including the United States, signed the Metre Convention in 1870. This led to the establishment of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Sèvres, France, which acts as an international standards reference laboratory and as the permanent secretariat for the Metre Convention.


2020 ◽  
pp. 26-32
Author(s):  
M. I. Kalinin ◽  
L. K. Isaev ◽  
F. V. Bulygin

The situation that has developed in the International System of Units (SI) as a result of adopting the recommendation of the International Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM) in 1980, which proposed to consider plane and solid angles as dimensionless derived quantities, is analyzed. It is shown that the basis for such a solution was a misunderstanding of the mathematical formula relating the arc length of a circle with its radius and corresponding central angle, as well as of the expansions of trigonometric functions in series. From the analysis presented in the article, it follows that a plane angle does not depend on any of the SI quantities and should be assigned to the base quantities, and its unit, the radian, should be added to the base SI units. A solid angle, in this case, turns out to be a derived quantity of a plane angle. Its unit, the steradian, is a coherent derived unit equal to the square radian.


Author(s):  
Gretchen K. Campbell ◽  
William D. Phillips

Experimental techniques of laser cooling and trapping, along with other cooling techniques, have produced gaseous samples of atoms so cold that they are, for many practical purposes, in the quantum ground state of their centre-of-mass motion. Such low velocities have virtually eliminated effects such as Doppler shifts, relativistic time dilation and observation-time broadening that previously limited the performance of atomic frequency standards. Today, the best laser-cooled, caesium atomic fountain, microwave frequency standards realize the International System of Units (SI) definition of the second to a relative accuracy of ≈3×10 −16 . Optical frequency standards, which do not realize the SI second, have even better performance: cold neutral atoms trapped in optical lattices now yield relative systematic uncertainties of ≈1×10 −16 , whereas cold-trapped ions have systematic uncertainties of 9×10 −18 . We will discuss the current limitations in the performance of neutral atom atomic frequency standards and prospects for the future.


2018 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Marquardt ◽  
Juris Meija ◽  
Zoltán Mester ◽  
Marcy Towns ◽  
Ron Weir ◽  
...  

AbstractIn 2011 the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) noted the intention of the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) to revise the entire International System of Units (SI) by linking all seven base units to seven fundamental physical constants. Of particular interest to chemists, new definitions for the kilogram and the mole have been proposed. A recent IUPAC Technical Report discussed these new definitions in relation to immediate consequences for the chemical community. This IUPAC Recommendation on the preferred definition of the mole follows from this Technical Report. It supports a definition of the mole based on a specified number of elementary entities, in contrast to the present 1971 definition.


Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Fanton

In this paper, we take the freedom to paraphrase Stephen Hawking's well-known formula and approach, for a reflection about metrology. In fact, metrology has a past, a present, and a future. The past is marked by a rich series of events, of which we shall highlight only those which resulted in major turns. The impact of the French Revolution is indisputably one of them. The present corresponds to a significant evolution, which is the entry of metrology into the world of quantum physics, with the relevant changes in the International System of units (SI). An apercu of the actual state of the art of metrological technology is given. The future is characterised by a persisting need for a still enhanced metrology, in terms of performance and domain covered. In this respect, soft metrology seems to constitute a promising field for research and development.


MAPAN ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Massa ◽  
Carlo Paolo Sasso ◽  
Giovanni Mana

AbstractX-ray interferometry established a link between atomic and macroscopic realisations of the metre. The possibility of measuring the silicon lattice parameter in terms of optical wavelengths opened the way to count atoms, to determine the Avogadro constant with unprecedented accuracy, and, nowadays, to realise the kilogram from the Planck constant. Also, it is a powerful tool in phase-contrast imaging by X-rays and, combined with optical interferometry, in linear and angular metrology with capabilities at the atomic scale. This review tells the history of the development of this fascinating technology at the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica in the last forty years. Eventually, it highlights its contribution to the redefinition of the International System of Units (SI).


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