Metrology:

The fabric of science and technology

Lafe Spietz
TMA class of 1990
 What is metrology?
The science of measurement
(not weather!)
Metrology establishes the international
standards for measurement used by all
countries in the world in both science and
industry
Examples: distance, time, mass,
temperature, voltage, values of physical and
chemical constants
 Why is metrology important
and interesting?
• Standard units and values of constants
needed for all science

Technological standards make all technology

work better and can save lives: fire hydrant
standards

Measurement of constants can give fundamental

insights into the universe: drift of fine structure
constant
Who does metrology?

Government labs around the world.

From Article I, section 8 of the U.S

Constitution:
“The Congress shall have Power To…
…fix the Standard of Weights and
Measures;”
 SI: The International System of
Units
Seven base units:
Length: meter (m)
Mass: kilogram (kg)
Time: second (s)
Electric current: ampere (A)
Thermodynamic temperature: kelvin (K)
Amount of substance: mole (mol)
Luminous intensity: candela (cd)
Lots of derived units:
Area: m2
Speed: m/s
Force: 1 newton = 1 kg·m/s2
Voltage: 1 volt = 1 m2·kg/s3·A
Frequency: 1 hertz = 1/s
Power: 1 watt = 1 kg·m2/s3
Electric Charge: 1 C = 1 A·s
 Hierarchy of units:
Kings and queens of units:
Time, frequency, distance

Dukes and Earls:

Current, voltage, resistance

Peasants:
Mass, temperature, pressure,
luminosity
 Clocks: Atomic time
One part per quadrillion accuracy!!!

Accurate frequency gives accurate

distance and time.
Artifact vs. quantum standards:

A metal bar: The modern meter:

1889-1960 The meter is the length of the path
traveled by light in vacuum during
a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of
a second
 The story of mass I:
the modern kilogram

The SI
kilogram
drifts!

http://www.bipm.fr
 The story of mass II:
possible replacements
Goal: 10 parts per billion accuracy

Avogadro’s number
Measurement:
Roundest object in
the world! Watt-balance
Temperature: Kelvin, Celsius, and
Fahrenheit

21 C 70 F 294 K Room temperature

0C 32 F 273.15 K Water freezes

-196 C -321 F 77 K Air liquefies

-269 C -452 F 4.2 K Helium liquefies

-273.15 C -459.67 F 0K Absolute zero

 The kelvin: the SI unit
The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature,
is the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic
temperature of the triple point of water.

(0.006 atm)
 ITS-90: the practical realization of
the kelvin
PV=NkBT

Platinum resistance Constant volume gas

standard thermometer
Not primary!!!
 PLTS-2000: the low temperature
definition of the kelvin
Not primary, and very hard!!

Helium-3 melting
pressure thermometer Superconducting
fixed points
 Electrical noise and temperature:
The basic idea

All resistors make electrical noise proportional to

temperature: hissing of a radio
Electrical noise and temperature:
applications of noise thermometry

By measuring the electrical noise of antennas

pointed towards space, astronomers can measure
the background temperature of the universe!
(images courtesy ofNASA/WMAP Science Team)
Why noise thermometry is hard:
Amplifiers add noise, and have
complex behavior

Must be calibrated accurately to

measure temperature accurately
The Shot Noise Thermometer
P

V
{

2kBT / e

Relates temperature to voltage,

Simplifying amplifier calibration.
The Shot Noise Thermometer:
A new practical low temperature thermometer
Copper Tubing for DC lines Copper Plumbing parts

SMA Connectors for RF Tunnel Junction

Built-in Bias Tee

(on-board SMT
Components)

Total cost of package <10$