ncsl03

logo

 

Home

Program

Search Proceedings

Author Index

About NCSLI

Contact NCSLI

CD Tech Support

 

 

 

 

Session:

1D - Metrology sans frontieres 

Date & Time:

Monday August 7, 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Paper Title:

Metrology sans Frontières: Measurements in the Global Village 

 

 

Speaker:

Dr. Seton Bennett  

CoAuthors:

Speaker Info

Company:

NPL

Address:

Hampton Road
Teddington, TW11 0LW, United Kingdom

Phone:

+44 20 8943 6920

Email:

seton.bennett@npl.co.uk 

 

 

Abstract:

The earliest measurements were made in communities for the purposes of building, local trade in staple goods and religious ceremonies. As long as these activities were limited to an individual village, simple, arbitrary standards were sufficient but early regulations focussed on the need for agreements to underpin trade between communities that might have different standards and to ensure the fair collection of taxes and tolls. Governments were quick to recognise the importance of metrology and references to the need for national standards were included in the UK's Magna Carta and subsequently in countless laws and regulations. In the global village of the 21st century, it has been accepted for some time that the enormous volume and huge value of international trade require universal measurement standards and consistently traceable measurements. Increasingly, however, the most demanding requirements for better measurements come from precision manufacturing and the demands of society for a safer, less polluted environment. To meet these demands, governments are continuing to develop national measurement systems, participating in regional metrology cooperations and supporting international agreements to ensure general acceptance of measurement results. It has been a long journey from the standard bushel to world-wide standards for radiotherapy and nanotechnology but the message remains the same: everyone in the (global) village must have confidence in the results!  

 

 

 

 

NCSL International © 2006 All Rights Reserved
2995 Wilderness Place, Suite 107, Boulder, Colorado 80301-5404
Tel: (303) 440-3339 Fax: (303) 440-3384
info@ncsli.org

 

CD-ROM Produced by X-CD Technologies