November 21, 2018:
Representatives from 60 countries voted to redefine the International System of Units.
The world’s standard definition of the kilogram (kg), the Ampere (A), the Kelvin (K), and the mole has been changed, after representatives from 60 countries voted to redefine the International System of Units (SI) for weight, current, temperature and amount of chemical substance.
The definition of the kilogram for more than 130 years, the International Prototype of the Kilogram (IPK), a cylinder of a platinum alloy stored at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in France, will now be retired.
New Definition: The kilogram is defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the Planck constant h to be 6.626 070 15 × 10−34 when expressed in the unit J s, which is equal to kg m⊃2; s−1, where the meter and the second are defined in terms of c and Δv.
Metre: The definition of the metre has been changed to link it to the speed of light. Similarly, there is a change in the definition of time also.
It will be replaced by the Planck constant – the fundamental constant of quantum physics. While the stability of the IPK could only be confirmed by comparisons with identical copies, a difficult and potentially inaccurate process, the Planck constant is ready for use everywhere and always.
The decision, made at the General Conference on Weights and Measures in Versailles, France, which is organised by BIPM, means that all SI units will now be defined in terms of constants that describe the natural world.
CGPM Members
The CGPM comprises 60 countries including India and 42 Associate Members. India was represented by Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash K Srivastava, National Physical Laboratory (NPL) Director D K Aswal and Head of NPL’s Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation TD Senguttuvan.
Key Highlights
• The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the main executive body of CGPM has the responsibility of defining the International System of Units (SI).
• The revision of the SI is the culmination of many years of intensive scientific cooperation between the National Metrology Institutes (The National Physical Laboratory for India) and the BIPM.
• The dissemination of SI units for the welfare of society and industries in the country is the responsibility of Legal Metrology, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India.
• Out of five draft resolutions, the revision of the International System of Units and the definition of timescales are important.
• The most important is the resolution on the revision of the International System of Units.
• The definition of the seven base units namely, second, metre, kilogram, ampere, Kelvin, mole and candela has been changed from being linked to artefacts to being based on the fundamental constants on nature.
This will assure the future stability of the SI and open the opportunity for the use of new technologies, including quantum technologies, to implement the definitions.
The changes, which will come into force on May 20 next year, will bring an end to the use of physical objects to define measurement units. “The SI redefinition is a landmark moment in scientific progress,” said Martin Milton, Director, International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM).
“Using the fundamental constants we observe in nature as a foundation for important concepts, such as mass and time, means that we have a stable foundation from which to advance our scientific understanding, develop new technologies and address some of society’s greatest challenges,” said Milton.
“Today marks the culmination of decades of work by measurement scientists around the world, the significance of which is immense,” said Barry Inglis, Director of the International Committee for Weights and Measures.
“We will now no longer be bound by the limitations of objects in our measurement of the world, but have universality accessible units that can pave the way to even greater accuracy, and even accelerate scientific advancement,” said Inglis.
The new definitions impact four of the seven base units of the SI: the kilogram, ampere, kelvin and mole; and all units derived from them, such as the Volt (V), ohm (Ω) and Joule (J).
Although the size of these units will not change, the four redefined units will join the second (s), the metre (m), and the candela to ensure that the set of SI base units will continue to be both stable and useful.
What was the problem with the system?
Having an artifact as the world standard for a measurement unit has two fundamental problems.
1. The first is that it can change value over time but, because it’s the world standard, there is no way of knowing how it changes, as it’s the standard. If the world standard changes, all measurements traced to it will also change.
2. The second problem is that it is difficult to bring every mass-measurement device to France every time it needs calibration. Thus, the national standards labs such as NIST in the US and NPL in the UK have their own kilogram standards that they periodically bring to France for comparison against the Prototype.
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