Abstract
In this chapter we discuss the history of measurements and standards across centuries, presenting the development of standards of units of length, time, temperature and electrical quantities from historical to contemporary units. Measurements of temperature and temperature scales, to which this book does not devote a separate chapter, are discussed at some length here. We also present the development of systems of measurement, from an early Chinese system consisting of units of length, volume and mass, through the first international systems to the SI system. The SI system is defined along with its seven base units: meter, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, candela and mole. We refer to the Meter Convention as the starting point of a wide international cooperation aimed at the unification of measurement units and the preservation of quality of standards. We discuss the organization of the international and national measurement services, and the role of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) and the national metrological institutes (NMIs).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
BIPM, The International System of Units (SI) System of Units, 8th edn (BIPM, Sèvres, 2006)
BIPM, Proces-Verbaux de Seances du Comite International des Poids et Mesures CIPM, vol. 57 (CIPM, 1989), pp. 104–105
S. Bregni, Synchronization of digital telecommunications networks (Wiley, Chichester, 2002)
R.H. Feynman, R.B. Leighton, M. Sands, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, vol. 1 (Addison-Wesley, Reading, 1964)
G. Girard, The third periodic verification of national propototypes of the kilogram. Metrologia 31, 317–336 (1994)
P.J. Hakonen, S. Yin, O.V. Lounasmaa, Nuclear magnetism in silver at positive and negative absolute temperatures in the low nanokelvin range. Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 2707–2710 (1990)
P. Kartaschoff, Frequency and Time (Elsevier, New York, 1978)
D. Kind, Herausforderung Metrologie (NW-Verlag, Berlin, 2002)
J. Magueijo, Faster than the Speed of Light (Arrow Books, London, 2003)
A. Merlone, CH. Musacchio, A. Szmyrka-Grzebyk, New definition of the kelvin in terms of the Boltzmann constant. Elektronika 6, 42–44 (2011)
L. Michalski, K. Eckersdorf, J. Kucharski, McGhee, Temperature Measurement, 2nd edn (Wiley, Chichester, 2000)
M.I. Mills, P.J. Mohr, T.J. Quinn, B.N. Taylor, E.R. Williams, Redefinition of the kilogram, ampere, kelvin and mole: a proposed approach to implementing CIPM recommendation 1. Metrologia 43, 227–246 (2006)
P.J. Mohr, B.N. Taylor, D.B. Newell, CODATA recommended values of the fundamental physical constants: 2010. Rev. Mod. Phys. 84, 1527–1605 (2012)
W. Nawrocki, Revising the SI: the joule to replace the kelvin as a base unit. Metrol. Measur. Syst. 13, 171–181 (2006)
Oscilloquarz, www.oscilloquartz.com
F. Pobel, Matter and Methods at Low Temperatures (Springer, Heidelberg, 1992)
T. Quinn, Temperature (Academic Press, London, 1983)
T.J. Quinn, Base units of the Systèmeinternatinal d’unités, their accuracy, dissemination and international traceability. Metrologia 31, 515–527 (1995)
M. Stock, The watt balance: determination of the Planck constant and redefinition of the kilogram. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A 369, 3936–3953 (2011)
A.K. Wróblewski, History of Physics (in Polish) (Scientific Publisher PWN, Warsaw, 2006)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Nawrocki, W. (2015). Measures, Standards and Systems of Units. In: Introduction to Quantum Metrology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15669-9_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15669-9_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15668-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15669-9
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)