The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is marking World Metrology Day, by launching its ‘Measure of All Things’ campaign to raise awareness of the expected redefinition of the International System of Units (SI).
On World Metrology Day, the international measurement community raises awareness of the impact and importance of having reliable measurements, like underpinning the accuracy of services like GPS, and ensuring effective administration of drugs. The theme for World Metrology Day 2018 is Constant Evolution of the International System of Units.
The SI is a globally agreed system of measurements that has been in place for more than two centuries. There are seven base units, which make up the SI, and guide the measurement of quantities like physical size, temperature and time.
This year’s theme was chosen due to the proposed SI redefinition, expected to be agreed in November 2018, when the General Conference on Weights and Measures meets. This will be one of the largest changes to the SI since its inception and will mean that all of the units are expressed in terms of constants that can be observed in the natural world. The metre is already defined by the speed of light, for example, and the kilogram – the last unit to be redefined – will be defined by the Planck constant. Using these constants as the basis for measurement will mean that they will remain reliable into the future.
On the surface, it will appear not much has changed. In the same way that if you replaced the decaying foundations of a house with new shiny ones, it may not be possible to identify the difference from the surface, but some substantial changes have taken place to ensure the longevity of the property.
As part of the Measure of All Things campaign, NPL will be attending events at schools, universities, and businesses all over the country to tell the story of measurement and the SI units, and raise awareness of the importance of the expected redefinition.
Through this outreach, the campaign will foster measurement skills for the future, enabling UK industry to remain competitive by recognising and developing this expertise.
Fiona Auty, Head of Government Relations and Corporate Communications at NPL, said: “Accurate, reliable measurement is something that often gets taken for granted, but we want the world to realise how important this is, from technology we use every day, like the internet, to monitoring the impact of climate change on the world around us.
“World Metrology Day is the perfect moment to begin discussing the impact of measurement with our ‘Measure of All Things’ campaign.”
For the first time, NPL will be travelling the country, hosting and attending events up and down the UK, to tell the story of measurement and its impact, and explain what the expected redefinition of the SI units will mean.
To see what NPL have planned, or how you can get involved, visit: http://www.npl.co.uk/
