ABCT 3631 Metrology and Calibration

(31 Aug 2022)

The International System of
Units (SI)
 The international System of Units (SI)
• adopted by the General Conference on Weights and
Measures ( ) and the International Committee
for Weights and Measures ( )
• published by the International Bureau of Weights
and Measures ( )
: The International System of Units (SI)
[9th edition, ]
https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure

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 SI Units
• The ( ) is the internationally
agreed for expressing at
and in
. (BIMP)
• Value of quantity should expressed as

e.g. 10.25 , 30.1 , 273.13 500 , etc.

( as for the )

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SI Units

4
The International Bureau of Weights and Measures
(BIPM)

• set up by the in 1875

• tasked to

• objectives are to
the
– be a for scientific and technical collaboration
between Member States, providing capabilities for

– be the of the
, ensuring it gives comparable and internationally
accepted measurement results

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 The Seven Base Quantities and
their Base Unit used in the SI
i. time – second (s)
ii. length – metre (m)
iii. mass – (kg)
iv. electric current – (A)
v. thermodynamic temperature – (K)
vi. amount of substance – (mol)
vii. luminous intensity – candela (cd)

Revised definitions effective from May 2019

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SI is based on the fixed numerical values of a set of seven defining
constants from which the definitions of the 7 base units of the SI would
be deduced.
© BIPM

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The international System of Units (SI)

© BIPM
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The international System of Units (SI)

*The numerical values of the seven defining constants have NO uncertainty

© BIPM

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 The Seven Base Units
• The is a
set of
• The derived from the fixed
values of these defining constants,

• The represent the

for to the
establish the practical realizations
of the definitions to allow for traceability of
measurements to the SI
may specify further details for
quantities and units and rules for their applications

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Base Quantities and Base Units

© BIPM

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 SI Derived Units
are
defined as

are
measured by
derived units

© BIPM 12
SI Derived Units

© NIST 13
SI Derived Units relationship

© Physical Measurement Laboratory of NIST

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 © BIPM

* with special names!

* are defined in relation to kg

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SI Derived Units with Special Names

For ease of understanding

and convenience, 22 SI
derived units have been
given special names and
symbols, as shown in the
Table.
© NIST

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 Notation of SI units
• Number values + base / derived units with
separating them
• The unit should be presented using the

• Only should be present in the unit

notation
• e.g. 109 m
– 1 Mkm (1 metre)
– 1 Gm (1 metre)
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Factor Prefix Symbol Factor Prefix Symbol
1024 yotta Y 10-1 deci d
1021 zetta Z 10-2 centi c
1018 exa E
1015 péta P
1012 téra T

10-15 femto f
10-18 atto a
102 hecto h 10-21 zepto z
101 deca da 10-24 yocto y

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Traceability Pyramid

Inter-
national
Standards
National
Metrology
Institutes
Calibration
Laboratories

Industry & Testing

Laboratories
© UNIDO 19
 Traceability to SI Units
• Traceability to SI units is achieved
through one of three options
– calibration by a competent laboratory
– certified reference materials by a competent
producter or
– direct realization by comparison with
national or international standards

© UNIDO 20
 (1/7)

• The kilogram is now (starting 2019) defined in terms of

guaranteeing
• Abrogated definition – The kilogram is the unit of mass;
it is equal to the of the

– the international prototype of the

kilogram is made of an alloy of platinum
(90%) and iridium (10%) and is kept at
the International Bureau of Weights
and Measures (BIPM) in France.
– Protected from moisture, contamination,
chemical wearing and physical wearing

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• Abrogated definition - The unit of length is ,
defined by the distance, at 00C,
marked on the bar of
kept at Bureau
International des Poids et Mesures
– This bar being subject to
and
, symmetrically placed in the same horizontal
plane at a distance of

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 Length - metre (2/7)

• SI definition – “The metre is the of the path travelled by

light in vacuum during a time interval of
*.”

*speed of light - 299 792 458 ms-1

i.e. 3.34 x 10-9 s

– Iodine-Stabilized †
– 633 nm (red) or 543 nm (green)
– Frequency at 2 MHz and 2.5 MHz Standard iodine-stabilized helium-neon laser
© SCL, HKSAR

†Practical realization of the metre takes the

form of the He-Ne laser, and the meter’s length
is delineated as 1 579 800.298 728
of light (λ = 632.991 398 22 nm) from this laser
vacuum wavelength = speed of light in vacuum /
frequency (known for a light source) © UK NPL
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 (3/7)

• SI definition – “The second is the

duration of

corresponding to the transition

between the two hyperfine levels
of the ground state of the
.”
• International atomic time

†Quartz crystal oscillator at nominal frequency of

(~3.2 x 104) Hz as a frequency reference,
and common mechanical watches have rate of Caesium Beam Standard – Primary
beats per second Measurement Standard for time and frequency
©SCL, HKSAR

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 (4/7)

• Abrogated definition – “The ampere is that

which, if maintained in of
infinite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed
, would produce between these
conductors a * of
length.”
• difficult to be realized and time consuming
• obtained through combinations of realizations of the watt, the
ohm and the volt.
• The ampere is now (2019) practically realized at the highest
metrological level.
*Nm-1(kgms-2m-1)(kgs-2)

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• Abrogated definition – “The , unit of
thermodynamic temperature, is the fraction

of the .”
• Triple point –
• "This definition refers to water having the isotopic
composition defined exactly by the following amount of
substance ratios:
0.000 155 76 mole of 2H per mole of 1H,
0.000 379 9 mole of 17O per mole of 16O, and
0.002 005 2 mole of 18O per mole of 16O."
(Added by CIPM in 2005) Fixed Temperature Standard
© SCL, HKSAR
† It remains common practice to express a temperature in terms of its difference
from 273.15 K, the ice point. The , T, expressed in
this way is known as Celsius temperature, t, defined by, t (°C) = T (K) - 273.15
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 Thermodynamic temperature -
Kelvin (5/7)

• The new (2019) definition is and

enabling the
for making
, especially
at .
• Under the new definition, guidance on the
of the kelvin will
by describing the
and equally
through the and

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• Abrogated definition –
i. The mole is the amount of substance of a
system which contains as many elementary
entities as there are atoms in
.
ii. When the mole is used, the elementary
entities must be specified and may be

• It follows that the molar mass of carbon 12,

M(12C), is exactly

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 Amount of substance - mole (6/7)

• The new (2019) definition of the mole will

the unit of mass, the .
• The mole is with respect to a
, typically or .
to the mole can still be
via the along with
and
Mu.

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 (7/7)

• SI definition – “The candela is the luminous intensity,

in a given direction, of a source that emits
monochromatic radiation of frequency
and that has a in
that direction of *.”

*Wsr-1(Js-1sr-1)(Nms-1sr-1)(kgms-2ms-1sr-1)(m2kgs-3sr-1)

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 Need for new SI realizations

(IPK) and its 6

copies are placed inside 3
bell jars at BIPM since 1889
(~129 yr)
IPK ©BIPM
• Copies compared with IPK
in 1889, 1948, 1989 to
provide / maintain the
traceability of mass
measurements anywhere in
the world back to the IPK Copy No. 75 of the International
Prototype of the Kilogram
©SCL, HKSAR
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 Need for new SI realizations

Final polishing of a new Pt-Ir mass prototype ©BIPM

• Reversible surface contamination approaching

in mass
• Applying the BIPM cleaning method to the IPK from time to
time
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 Need for new SI realizations

• Drifting of artifact’s based realization e.g. IPK

• Redefinition in terms of
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 Need for new SI realizations
• The decision made on at to
revise the International System of Units (SI)
• The , , and are
in terms of
will now be
that describe the that will
of the SI
for the to
, including

• The definitions has on

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SI is based on the of a set of defining
from which the definitions of the 7 base units of the SI
would be deduced.
© BIPM

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 The of the SI -
Fundamental Physical Constants
i. The unperturbed ground state
of the atom ΔνCs is
9.192 631 770 x 109 Hz
ii. The in vacuum c is 2.99 792 458 x 108 m s-1
iii. The h is 6.626 070 × 10−34 J s
iv. The e is 1.602 176 634 × 10−19 C
v. The k is 1.380 649 × 10−23 J K−1
vi. The NA is 6.022 140 76 × 1023 mol−1
vii. The of of
frequency 540 × 1012 Hz, Kcd is 683 lm W−1
Note: The numerical values of all the constants have .
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 Definition of 7 SI base units

• The , symbol s, is the SI unit of . It is defined by

taking the fixed numerical value of the
ΔνCs, the unperturbed
of the atom, to be ,
which is equal to s–1.
9 192 631 770
1 𝑠𝑠 =
∆𝜈𝜈𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶

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 Definition of 7 SI base units
• The , symbol m, is the SI unit of . It is defined by
taking the fixed numerical value of the
to be , where the second is
defined in terms of the caesium frequency Δ𝜈𝜈 Cs.
𝑐𝑐
1 𝑚𝑚 = 𝑠𝑠
299 792 458
• The , symbol , is the SI unit of mass. It is defined
by taking the fixed numerical value of the
to be , which is equal to ,
where the metre and the second are defined in terms of c and
Δ𝜈𝜈 Cs.
ℎ −2
1 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 = 𝑚𝑚 𝑠𝑠
6.626 070 15 x 10−34

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 Definition of 7 SI base units
• The , symbol A, is the SI unit of . It is
defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the
e to be , which is equal to ,
where the second is defined in terms of ΔνCs.
𝑒𝑒 −1
1 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑠𝑠
1.602 176 634 x 10−19
• The , symbol K, is the SI unit of thermodynamic
temperature. It is defined by taking the fixed numerical value
of the k to be ,
which is equal to , where the kilogram, metre and
second are defined in terms of h, c and ΔνCs.
1.380 649
1 𝐾𝐾 = x 10−23 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 𝑚𝑚2 𝑠𝑠 2
𝑘𝑘
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 Definition of 7 SI base units

• The , symbol mol, is the SI unit of

One mole contains exactly elementary
entities. The number is the fixed numerical value of the
NA, when expressed in the unit of a
, which may be an atom, molecule,
ion, electron, any other particle or a specified group of such
particles.
6.022 140 76 x 1023
1 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 =
𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴

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 Definition of 7 SI base units
• The , symbol cd, is the SI unit of in
a given direction. It is defined by taking the fixed numerical
value of the of of
frequency , Kcd, to be when expressed in the
, which is equal to , or ,
where the kilogram, metre and second are defined in terms of
h, c and ΔνCs.
𝐾𝐾𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
1 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 𝑚𝑚2 𝑠𝑠 −3 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 −1
683

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Old and new SI

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 Importance of

with
– Legal dose for additives
– Amount of active ingredients in a product etc.
of between different
parts in the
– Dimension of machine parts for manufacturing of product
– Drug formulations etc.

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 International Standard &
National Standard

– Highest in hierarchy and recognized by international agreement

– Adopted internationally for other
standard
– e.g. the and at BIPM

– Lower in hierarchy and recognized as by national or

regional laws
– Adopted nationally as to assign value for other standard
– e.g. kept in different countries

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 Primary Standard &
Secondary Standard
established
using a
– Highest metrological qualities
– Value is recognized
e.g. ,

established
through with respect to a primary measurement
standard for a quantity of the same kind
– Value is set by reference to primary standard
e.g. with triple-point-of-water cell
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 Primary Standards and Secondary
Standards of Temperature
• Standards Calibration Laboratory (SCL), HKSAR realizes the
( ) by maintaining the
following at :
– Triple point of argon
– Triple point of mercury (-38.8344 °C)
– Triple point of water
– Melting point of gallium (29.7646 °C)
– Freezing point of indium (156.5985 °C)
– Freezing point of tin (231.928 °C)
– Freezing point of zinc (419.527 °C)
– Freezing point of aluminium (660.323 °C)
– Freezing point of silver

• SCL, HKSAR also possesses

and which are
calibrated directly in ITS-90.
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Primary Standard of Time & Frequency
• SCL, HKSAR maintains the Beam
– Primary Measurement Standard
for
• offering calibrations for time/frequency
standards and frequency counters with
frequency range covering 1 Hz to 40 GHz
• Including Watches/Stop watches

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 Primary Standard of Length
• SCL, HKSAR can provide calibration service for the
measurement of the wavelength of any laser having
a nominal wavelength of .
• The measuring values of the Laser interferometer
systems that are widely used in engineering
metrology are based on wavelengths of the
incorporated laser sources.
• Calibration is performed by comparing the
wavelength of the laser under test with the
wavelength of the standard iodine-stabilized
using beat frequency technique.
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 Primary Standard of Length

• A is a typical of gas laser with gain

medium consisting of and inside a
small electrical discharge
• The laser operates at a wavelength of

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Measurement Standards
and

Transfer Reference
Standards & Standards and
Travelling Working
Standard Standards

and

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 Reference Standard &
Working Standard

for quantities
of a given kind in a given organization or at a given location
– Regional or national laboratory maintain reference
standards for calibrating other working standards

that is

– Used as ‘check standard’ to verify the routine

measurement are being correctly performed
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 Transfer Standard &
Travelling Standards

– A standard used as an .
The term transfer device should be used when the
intermediary is not a standard; e.g. adjustable callipers
used to inter-compare end standards.

– A standard, sometimes of special construction,

between different locations; e.g. a portable
battery-operated caesium frequency standard.

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End of This Session

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