Fluke The impact of the new SI on industry final free download

File name The impact of the new SI on industry final.pdf

The Impact of the New SI on Industry Speaker/Author: Jeff Gust Chief Corporate Metrologist Fluke Corporation 6920 Seaway Blvd Everett, WA 98203 [email protected] Abstract There is a draft resolution from the General Conference of Weights and Measures (CGPM) inviting the International Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM) to propose a revision of the International System of Units (SI). While the actual implementation of any such change is still years away, it is important to plan how the communication of the changes and implementation of the revision would actually occur. The proposed revision to the SI has been widely discussed at National Measurement Institutes (NMI's) and to a lesser extent, industry. Although the magnitude of the changes in the proposal are generally too small to be seen by most industrial organizations, it is important to communicate why the change is being made, how it will occur, and what organizations must do in order to maintain traceability to the SI. This paper provides background information regarding the possible changes to the SI, and Fluke's role in realizing the changes. It identifies industrial measurements that may be significantly affected by a redefinition, and addresses the roles and responsibilities that organizations such as the NCSLI and companies like Fluke have to effectively communicate the revision of the SI to industry measurement professionals. Learning Objectives After reading this paper, the reader should be able to understand: That the SI will be redefined at some point in time An approximate timeframe for redefinition An initial understanding of whether the redefinition will potentially affect their organization or not The role major industrial organizations will play in educational activities associated with a redefinition of the SI How measurements associated with the redefinition of the SI will be disseminated to industry 2011 NCSL International Workshop and Symposium Introduction In October of 2011, the CGPM may be meeting to consider a proposal to address the last of the seven base SI units that are still defined in terms of a material artifact1. The proposal would change the definition of the kilogram, which has remained unchanged since the first meeting of the CGPM in 1889, to a value based upon a constant of nature. The kilogram would be the most significant of the proposed changes to the SI, as it has been in place the longest amount of time. Other quantities such as the ampere, mole and candela are all defined in terms of the kilogram, and would also be affected by any redefinition of the kilogram. The draft of the proposal wou