Watt Balance Research Articles

High precision levelling supporting the International Comparison of Absolute Gravimeters

High precision levelling is an indispensable method used to monitor benchmark and terrain stability at the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). Associated with the International Comparison of Absolute Gravimeters (ICAG), levelling measurements were carried out repeatedly over the past decades. A local gravity field strongly depends on vertical terrain deformation. 1 cm displacement implies about 2 µGal change in the vertical gravity acceleration. The precision of absolute and relative gravimetry nowadays is about 1 µGal.At the beginning of the century, a strategy was outlined that the ICAG should be upgraded to a metrological Key Comparison of the CIPM MRA (Mutual Recognition Arrangement) recognized officially by the designated governmental organizations. As a result of this decision, BIPM site B was constructed and completed in Spring 2001. The site B pillar is 4 m × 6 m × 1.5 m in dimension and more than 80 ton in weight. Such a large, newly built concrete body produces local deformation due to its sinking or tilting. This in turn influences the local gravity field. Rigorous levelling measurements have been performed by the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM), France, since 2001 and repeated together with the 4-year ICAGs of 2001, 2005 and 2009. ICAG-2009 was characterized by becoming the first Comité International des Poids et Mesures (CIPM) Key Comparison which supported meanwhile the BIPM watt balance (WB) project. The WB pillar was built in Spring 2009. The Institut Géographique National (IGN), France, has hence been invited to participate in the levelling. The latter also measured the link between the BIPM local network and external stations of the French national height reference system IGN69.In this paper, we report the final results of the levelling programmes of 2001, 2005 and 2009 and compare the results. We investigate stability of the BIPM gravity-levelling stations. We conclude that the existing and the newly built stations can be considered as stable for the purposes of the ICAGs and the WB, although further repeat measurement may be required for the WB site.For the first time, detailed and complete levelling data and results are publishedOnly the final result of the 2005 levelling mission was published in [4] where, instead of NGF, the height reference system used was IGN69. This is incorrect and is corrected in this paper.. After 30 years of organizing and holding eight ICAGs, the BIPM will hand over the KC ICAG-2013 to another CIPM MRA designated institute. This paper serves as a technical and historical report of precision levelling, a sub-task of the ICAGs.

Towards a better definition of the kilogram

It is widely accepted that improvement of the current International System of Units (SI) is necessary, and that central to this problem is redefinition of the kilogram. This paper compares the relative advantages of two main proposals for a modern scientific definition of the kilogram: an ‘electronic kilogram’ based on a fixed value of Planck's constant, and an ‘atomic kilogram’ based on a fixed value for Avogadro's number. A concrete and straightforward atomic definition of the kilogram is proposed. This definition is argued to be more experimentally neutral than the electronic kilogram, more realizable by school and university laboratories than the electronic kilogram, and more readily comprehensible than the electronic kilogram.

Uncertainty Improvements of the NIST Electronic Kilogram

This paper summarizes the latest uncertainty improvements and data for a new result from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) electronic kilogram experiment. The result of 8 $\pm$ 36 nW/W for the ratio $ \{{W}_{90} /{W}- 1\}$ , as well as the Planck's constant, is comparable to the NIST 2005 value but with a lower uncertainty. Of the eight largest Type B uncertainty contributions, gravity acceleration, wheel surface, and reference mass magnetic susceptibility are considerably reduced. Humidity dependence in the recent data and limitations on the volt/velocity signal analysis are now the main limitations on the uncertainty.

Towards an electronic kilogram: an improved measurement of the Planck constant and electron mass

The electronic kilogram project of NIST has improved the watt balance method to obtain a new determination of the Planck constant h by measuring the ratio of the SI unit of power W to the electrical realization unit W90, based on the conventional values for the Josephson constant KJ−90 and von Klitzing constant RK−90. The value h = 6.626 069 01(34) × 10−34 J s verifies the NIST result from 1998 with a lower combined relative standard uncertainty of 52 nW/W. A value for the electron mass me = 9.109 382 14(47) × 10−31 kg can also be obtained from this result. With uncertainties approaching the limit of those commercially applicable to mass calibrations at the level of 1 kg, an electronically-derived standard for the mass unit kilogram is closer to fruition.

The Ampere and Electrical Standards.

This paper describes some of the major contributions to metrology and physics made by the NIST Electricity Division, which has existed since 1901. It was one of the six original divisions of the National Bureau of Standards. The Electricity Division provides dc and low-frequency calibrations for industrial, scientific, and research organizations, and conducts research on topics related to electrical metrology and fundamental constants. The early work of the Electricity Division staff included the development of precision standards, such as Rosa and Thomas standard resistors and the ac-dc thermal converter. Research contributions helped define the early international system of measurement units and bring about the transition to absolute units based on fundamental principles and physical and dimensional measurements. NIST research has helped to develop and refine electrical standards using the quantum Hall effect and the Josephson effect, which are both based on quantum physics. Four projects covering a number of voltage and impedance measurements are described in detail. Several other areas of current research at NIST are described, including the use of the Internet for international compatibility in metrology, determination of the fine-structure and Planck constants, and construction of the electronic kilogram.