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Proposed redenition of SI base units

For a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of


the metric system.

initions of the SI base units, which are being examined


by the CIPM and which may be considered by the 25th
'General Conference on Weights and Measures, in 2014.
The metric system was originally conceived as a system of
measurement that was derivable from nature. When the
metric system was rst introduced in France in 1799 technical problems necessitated the use of artifacts as the prototype metre and kilogram. In 1960 the metre was redened in terms of the wavelength of light from a specied
source, making it derivable from nature, but the kilogram
has been dened by an artifact ever since its introduction.
If the proposed redenition is accepted, the metric system (SI) will, for the rst time, be wholly derivable from
nature.

K
s

mol
cd

The proposal can be summarised as follows:


There will still be the same
seven base units (second, metre,
kilogram, ampere, kelvin, mole,
and candela). Of these, the kilogram, ampere, kelvin and mole
will be redened by choosing exact
numerical values for the Planck
constant, the elementary electric
charge, the Boltzmann constant,
and the Avogadro constant, respectively.
The second, metre
and candela are already dened by
physical constants and it is only
necessary to edit their present
denitions. The new denitions
will improve the SI without changing the size of any units, thus
ensuring continuity with present
measurements.[1]

kg

Current (2013) SI System: Dependence of base unit denitions


on other base units (for example, the metre is dened in terms of
the distance traveled by light in a specic fraction of a second)

Further details are found in the draft chapter of the Ninth


SI Units Brochure.[2]
The last major overhaul of the metric system was in 1960
when the International System of Units (SI) was formally
published as a coherent set of units of measure. SI is
structured around seven base units that have apparently
arbitrary denitions and another twenty units that are
Proposed SI System: Dependence of base unit denitions on derived from these base units. Although the units themphysical constants with xed numerical values and on other base selves form a coherent system, the denitions do not. The
proposal before the CIPM seeks to remedy this by using
units that are derived from the same set of constants.
the fundamental quantities of nature as the basis for derivA committee of the International Committee for Weights ing the base units. This will mean, amongst other things,
and Measures (CIPM) has proposed revised formal def- that the prototype kilogram will cease to be used as the
1

BACKGROUND

denitive replica of the kilogram. The second and the


metre are already dened in such a manner.

other things, advises the CIPM on matters concerning units of measurement.[6]

A number of authors have published criticisms of the revised denitions in particular that proposal had failed
to address the impact of breaking the link between the
mole, kilogram, the dalton, the Avogadro constant and
Avogadros number.

BIPM (International Bureau for Weights and Measures / Bureau international des poids et mesures)
The Bureau provides safe keeping of the international prototype kilogram and metre, provides laboratory facilities for regular comparisons of the national prototypes with the international prototype
and is the secretariat for the CIPM and the CGPM.

Background

Main article: History of the metric system


The basic structure of SI was developed over a period
of about 170 years (1791 to 1960). Since 1960 technological advances have made it possible to address various
weaknesses in SI, notably the dependence on an artifact
to dene the kilogram.

1.1

Development of SI

During the early years of the French Revolution, the leaders of the French National Constituent Assembly decided
to introduce a completely new system of measurement
based on the principles of logic and natural phenomena. The resulting mtre des archives and kilogramme des
archives were dened in terms of artefacts that were a
best attempt at fullling these principles.[3]

The rst CGPM (1889) formally approved the use of


40 prototype metres and 40 prototype kilograms from
the British rm Johnson Matthey as the standards mandated by the Convention of the Metre.[7] One of each
of these was nominated by lot as the international prototypes, other copies were retained by the CGPM as working copies and the rest were distributed to member nations for use as their national prototypes. At regular intervals the national prototypes were compared with and recalibrated against the international prototype.[8] In 1921
the Convention of the Metre was revised and the mandate of the CGPM was extended to provide standards
for all units of measure, not just mass and length. In
the ensuing years the CGPM took on responsibility for
providing standards of electric current (1946), luminosity
(1946), temperature (1948), time (1956) and molar mass
(1971).[9]

In 1875, by which time the use of the metric system


had become widespread in Europe and in Latin America, twenty industrially developed nations met for the
Convention of the Metre. The result was the signing of
the Treaty of the Metre under which three bodies were
set up to take custody of the international prototype kilogram and metre and to regulate comparisons with national
prototypes.[4][5] They were:
CGPM (General Conference on Weights and Measures / Confrence gnrale des poids et mesures)
The Conference meets every four to six years and
consists of delegates of the nations who had signed
the convention. It discusses and examines the arrangements required to ensure the propagation and
improvement of the International System of Units
and it endorses the results of new fundamental
metrological determinations.

Mass drift over time of national prototypes K21K40, plus two of


the International Prototype Kilograms (IPKs) sister copies: K32
and K8(41).[Note 1] All mass changes are relative to the IPK.[10]

The 9th CGPM (1948) instructed the CIPM to make


recommendations for a single practical system of units of
measurement, suitable for adoption by all countries adhering to the Metre Convention.[11] The recommendations based on this mandate were presented to the 11th
CIPM (International Committee for Weights and CGPM (1960) where they were formally accepted and
Measures / Comit international des poids et given the name "Systme International d'Units" and its
mesures)The Committee consists of eighteen em- abbreviation SI.[12]
inent scientists, each from a dierent country, nominated by the CGPM. The CIPM meets annually
and is tasked to advise the CGPM. The CIPM has 1.2 Impetus for change
set up a number of sub-committees, each charged
with a particular area of interest. One of these, the Changing the underlying principles behind the deniCCU (Consultative Committee for Units), amongst tion of the SI base units is not without precedent. The

3
13th CGPM (1967) replaced the original denition of to 2014.[26][27]
the second (which was based on a back-calculation of the
Earths rotation in the year 1900) with a denition based
on the frequency of the radiation emitted between two 2 The proposal
hyperne levels of the ground state of the caesium 133
atom. Similarly, the 17th CGPM (1983) replaced the
In this section, an X at the end of a number
1960 denition of the metre[Note 2] with one where the
means one or more nal digits yet to be agreed
metre is derived from the speed of light where the speed
upon.
of light had been dened exactly in terms of metres per
second.[13]
In 2011 the CCU published a draft of the proposed
Over the years, drifts of up to 2108 kilograms per change in the form of an amendment that should be made
annum in the national prototype kilograms relative to to the 8th edition of the SI Brochure.[2] In it they proposed
the international prototype kilogram have been detected. that in addition to the speed of light, four further conThere was no way of determining whether the national stants of nature should be dened to have exact values:
prototypes were gaining mass or whether the IPK was losing mass.[14] At the 21st meeting of the CGPM (1999),
The Planck constant h is exactly
national laboratories were urged to investigate ways of
6.62606X1034 joule second (Js).
breaking the link between the kilogram and a specic
artefact. Newcastle University metrologist Peter Cump The elementary charge e is exactly
son has since identied mercury vapour absorption or
1.60217X 1019 coulomb (C).
carbonaceous contamination as possible causes of this
The Boltzmann constant k is exactly
drift.[15][16]
1.38065X1023 joule per kelvin (JK1 ).
Independently of this drift having been identied, the
The Avogadro constant NA is exactly
Avogadro project and development of the Watt balance
6.02214X1023 reciprocal mole (mol1 ).
promised methods of indirectly measuring mass with
a very high precision. These projects provided tools
that would enable alternative means of redening the These constants were described in the 2006 version of the
SI manual; the latter three were dened as constants to
kilogram.[17]
be obtained by experiment.
A report published in 2007 by the Consultative Committee for Thermometry to the CIPM noted that their current The CCU also proposed that the numerical values assodenition of temperature has proved to be unsatisfactory ciated with the following constants of nature be retained
for temperatures below 20 kelvins and for temperatures unchanged:
above 1300 kelvins. The committee was of the view that
The speed of light c is exactly
the Boltzmann constant provided a better basis for tem299792458metres per second (ms1 ).
perature measurement than did the triple point of water,
[18]
as it overcame these diculties.
The ground state hyperne splitting
At its 23rd meeting (2007), the GCPM mandated the
CIPM to investigate the use of natural constants as the
basis for all units of measure rather than the artefacts that
were then in use. The following year this was endorsed
by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics
(IUPAP).[19] At a meeting of the CCU held in Reading,
United Kingdom, in September 2010, a resolution[20] and
draft changes to the SI brochure that were to be presented
to the next meeting of the CIPM in October 2010 were
agreed to in principle.[21] The CIPM meeting of October 2010 found that the conditions set by the General
Conference at its 23rd meeting have not yet been fully
met.[Note 3] For this reason the CIPM does not propose
a revision of the SI at the present time";[23] however, the
CIPM presented a resolution for consideration at the 24th
CGPM (1721 October 2011) to agree the new denitions in principle, but not to implement them until the
details have been nalised.[24] This resolution was accepted by the conference,[25] and in addition the CGPM
moved the date of the 25th meeting forward from 2015

frequency of the caesium133 atom


(133 Cs)
is exactly 9192631770
hertz (Hz).
The luminous ecacy K
of
monochromatic radiation of frequency
5401012 Hz is exactly 683 lumen per
watt (lmW1 ).
The seven denitions above are rewritten below after converting the derived units (joule, coulomb, hertz,
lumen and watt) into the seven base units (second, metre,
kilogram, ampere, kelvin, mole and candela). In the list
that follows, the symbol sr stands for the dimensionless
unit steradian.
(133 Cs)

= 9192631770s1

c = 299792458s1 m
h = 6.62606X1034 s1 m2 kg
e = 1.60217X1019 sA

3
k = 1.38065X1023 s2 m2 kgK1

Proposed denition: The second, s, is the


unit of time; its magnitude is set by xing the
numerical value of the ground state hyperne
splitting frequency of the caesium-133 atom,
at rest and at a temperature of 0 K, to be equal
to exactly 9192631770 when it is expressed in
the unit s1 , which is equal to Hz.

NA = 6.02214X10 mol
23

K = 683 s3 m2 kg1 cdsr


In addition the CCU proposed that
the international prototype kilogram be
retired and that the current denition of
the kilogram be abrogated,
the current denition of the ampere be
abrogated,
the current denition of the kelvin be abrogated and
the current denition of the mole be revised.

3.2 Metre
The proposed denition of the metre is eectively the
same as the current denition, the only dierence being
that the additional rigour in the denition of the second
will propagate to the metre.
Current denition: The metre is the length of
the path travelled by light in vacuum during a
time interval of 1/299792458 of a second.

These changes will have the eect of redening the SI


base units, though the denitions of the derived SI units
will remain the same.

IMPACT ON BASE UNIT DEFINITIONS

Proposed denition: The metre, m, is the


unit of length; its magnitude is set by xing the
numerical value of the speed of light in vacuum to be equal to exactly 299792458 when it
is expressed in the unit ms1 .

Impact on base unit denitions

The CCU proposal recommended that the text of the definitions of all the base units be either rened or rewritten changing the emphasis from explicit-unit to explicit- 3.3
constant type denitions.[28] Explicit-unit type denitions
dene a unit in terms of a specic example of that unit
for example in 1324 Edward II dened the inch as being the length of three barleycorns[29] and since 1889
the kilogram has been dened as being the mass of the
International Prototype Kilogram. In explicit-constant
denitions, a constant of nature is given a specied value
and the denition of the unit emerges as a consequence.
For example, in 1983, the speed of light was dened to be
exactly 299,792,458 metres per second and as long as the
second has already been dened, the length of the metre
can be dened.

Kilogram

The current (2008)[13] and proposed (2011)[21] denitions are given below. In many cases the nal digit of any
constant is yet to be agreed, so it has been represented by
an "X"

3.1

Second

The proposed denition of the second is eectively the


same as the current denition, the only dierence being that the conditions under which the measurements are
made are more rigorously dened.
Current denition: The second is the duration of 9192631770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between
the two hyperne levels of the ground state of
the caesium-133 atom.

The watt balance which will measure the ratio of the Planck constant to the international prototype kilogram.[30]

The denition of the kilogram is undergoing a fundamental change - the current denition denes the kilogram as
being the mass of the international prototype kilogram
which is an artifact, not a constant of nature[31] while
the new denition relates it to the equivalent energy of
a photon via the Planck constant.
Current denition: The kilogram is the unit
of mass; it is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram.

3.5

Kelvin
Proposed denition: The kilogram, kg, is the
unit of mass; its magnitude is set by xing the
numerical value of the Planck constant to be
equal to exactly 6.62606X1034 when it is expressed in the unit s1 m2 kg, which is equal to
Js.

5
dependent on the denitions of the kilogram and the metre, but will still be dependent on the denition of the
second. In addition the vacuum permeability, vacuum
permittivity and impedance of free space, which, in the
current denition have exact values will, in the future, be
subject to experimental error.[34]

One consequence of this change is that the new denition


makes the denition of the kilogram dependent on the 3.5 Kelvin
denitions of the second and the metre.
The denition of the kelvin will undergo a fundamental
change if the proposal is accepted. Rather than using the
triple point of water to x the temperature scale the pro3.4 Ampere
posal recommends that the energy equivalent as given by
The denition of the ampere is undergoing a major Boltzmanns equation be used.
overhaulthe current denition, which is dicult to realise with high precision in practice, is being replaced by
Current denition: The kelvin, unit of
a denition that is more intuitive and that is easier to rethermodynamic temperature, is the fraction
alise.
1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature
of the triple point of water.
Current denition: The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two
Proposed denition: The kelvin, K, is the
straight parallel conductors of innite length,
unit of thermodynamic temperature; its magof negligible circular cross-section, and placed
nitude is set by xing the numerical value of
1 m apart in vacuum, would produce between
the Boltzmann constant to be equal to exactly
these conductors a force equal to 2107 new1.38065X1023 when it is expressed in the
ton per metre of length.
unit s2 m2 kgK1 , which is equal to JK1 .
Proposed denition: The ampere, A, is the
unit of electric current; its magnitude is set by
For a physical interpretation of this new denition, conxing the numerical value of the elementary
sider an ideal gas concentrated such that the average volcharge to be equal to exactly 1.60217X1019
ume per molecule is 1.38065X1023 m3 . That is the
when it is expressed in the unit As, which is
volume of a cube with a side length of about 24 nm. The
equal to C.
ratio of the gass temperature and pressure would be dened exactly equal to 1 K/Pa.
Since the current denition contains a reference to force One consequence of this change is that the new denition
which has the dimensions MLT2 it follows that in SI the makes the denition of the kelvin depend on the denikilogram, metre and second, the base units representing tions of the second, the metre, and the kilogram.
these dimensions, must be dened before the ampere can
be dened. Other consequences of this denition are that
in SI the value of vacuum permeability (0 ) is xed at ex- 3.6 Mole
actly 4107 Hm1 .[32] Since the speed of light in vacuum (c) is also xed, it follows from the relationship
The current denition of the mole links it to the kilogram.
The proposed denition will break that link by making
a mole a specic number of entities of the substance in
1
2
question.
c =
0 0
that the vacuum permittivity (0 ) has a xed value and
from

Z0 =

0
0

that the impedance of free space (Z0 ) likewise has a xed


value.[33]
One consequence of the proposed changes to the denition of the ampere is that the denition will no longer be

Current denition: The mole is the amount


of substance of a system that contains as many
elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012
kilogram of carbon-12. When the mole is
used, the elementary entities must be specied
and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons,
other particles, or specied groups of such particles.
Proposed denition: The mole, mol, is the
unit of amount of substance of a specied

IMPACT ON REPRODUCIBILITY

Current denition: The candela is the


luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a
source that emits monochromatic radiation of
frequency 5401012 Hz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per
steradian.
Proposed denition: The candela, cd, is the
unit of luminous intensity in a given direction;
its magnitude is set by xing the numerical
value of the luminous ecacy of monochromatic radiation of frequency 5401012 Hz to
be equal to exactly 683 when it is expressed in
the unit s3 m2 kg1 cdsr, or cdsrW1 , which
is equal to lmW1 .

4 Impact on reproducibility
Apart from the candela,[Note 4][35] all the base units will
be dened in terms of universal physical constants, but
without an explicit one-to-one correspondence between
the constants and the base units. Thus six physical constants will be needed to dene the six base units.
A near-perfect sphere of ultra-pure silicon - part of the Avogadro
project, an International Avogadro Coordination project to determine the Avogadro number[30]

elementary entity, which may be an atom,


molecule, ion, electron, any other particle or
a specied group of such particles; its magnitude is set by xing the numerical value of
the Avogadro constant to be equal to exactly
6.02214X1023 when it is expressed in the unit
mol1 .
One consequence of this change is that the current dened relationship between the mass of the 12 C atom,
the dalton, the kilogram, and Avogadros number will no
longer be valid. One of the following must change:
the mass of a 12 C atom is exactly 12 dalton
the number of dalton in a gram is exactly the numerical value of Avogadros constant

When the New SI was rst designed, there were more


than six suitable physical constants from which the designers could choose. For example, once length and
time had been established, the universal gravitational constant G could, from a dimensional point of view, be
used to dene mass.[Note 5] It should noted that in practice G can only be measured with a relative uncertainty
of 104[Note 6] which would have resulted in upper limit
of the kilograms reproducibility being 104 whereas the
current international prototype kilogram can be measured
with a relative uncertainty of 5 108 .[34] The choice
of physical constants was made on the basis of minimal
uncertainty associated with measuring the constant and
the degree of independence of the constant in respect
of other constants that were being used. Although the
BIPM has developed a standard mise en pratique (practical technique)[36] for each type of measurement, the mise
en pratique used to make the measurement is not part of
the measurements denition it is merely an assurance
that the measurement can be done without exceeding the
specied maximum uncertainty.

The draft SI brochure assumes the rst will remain true, 4.1 Physical constants used in the new defwhich would mean that the second will no longer be true.
initions
The molar mass constant, while still with great accuracy
remaining equal to 1 g/mol, will no longer be exactly The following table catalogues the changes in the relative
equal to that.
uncertainty of the physical constants and of base units that
are directly aected by the proposals:[21][37]

3.7

Candela
4.2 Other physical constants

The proposed denition of the candela is eectively the


same as the current denition, but has been rephrased.
There are three categories of physical constants:

7
The fundamental constants whose value is by denition xed.

The relative uncertainty of Boltzmann constant derived from two fundamentally dierent methods
such as acoustic gas thermometry and dielectric constant gas thermometry be better than one part in
106 and that these values be corroborated by other
measurements.[43]

Physical constants that are a function of the fundamental constants, for example the von Klitzing constant RK = h/e2 . In this case, both e and h are fundamental constants, so the von Klitzing constant has
an exact denition.
As at March 2011, the International Avogadro Coordination (IAC) group had obtained an uncertainty of 3.0
Physical constants that were alternative candidates
108 and NIST had obtained an uncertainty of 3.6 108
as fundamental constants. These have to be meain their measurements.[17]
sured separately, but the fundamental constants are
On 1 September 2012 the European Association of Naoften used in calculating these constants.
tional Metrology Institutes (Euramet) launched a formal
project to reduce the relative dierence between the wattAlthough there are potentially many thousands of conbalance and the silicon sphere approach to measuring the
stants in the latter two groups, those identied by Mills[37]
kilogram from 17 5 108 to within 2 108 .[44]
are listed below. Constants that are closely related have
As of March 2013 the proposed redenition is known
been grouped together.[21]
as the New SI,[1] but Mohr, in a paper following the
CGPM proposal but predating the formal CCU proposal,
suggested that since the proposed system makes use of
4.3 Dalton
atomic scale phenomena rather than macroscopic phe[45]
In 1993, the International Union of Pure and Applied nomena, it should be called the Quantum SI System.
Chemistry approved the use of the dalton as an alternative
to the unied atomic mass unit with the qualication that
the GCPM had not given its approval.[38] This approval 6 Comment
has since been given.[39] Following the proposal to redene the mole by xing the value of the Avogadro num- In 2010 Marcus Foster of the Commonwealth Scientic
ber, Brian Leonard of the University of Akron, writing in and Industrial Research Organisation published a wideMetrologia proposed that the dalton (Da) be redened as ranging critique of SI in which he raised numerous isan SI derived unit exactly equal to (1/1000NA) kg; but sues ranging from basic issues such as the absence of the
that the unied atomic mass unit (m) retain its current symbol "" from most Western keyboards to the abstract
denition based on the mass of 12 C, ceasing to be SI. issues such as inadequate formalism in the metrological
This would result in the dalton and the atomic mass unit concepts on which SI is based. The changes proposed in
potentially diering from each other by a factor of the the New SI only addressed issues regarding the denition
order of 109 .[40]
of the base units including new denitions of the candela

Acceptance

Much of the work done by the CIPM is delegated to consultative committees. The CIPM Consultative Committee for Units (CCU) has made the proposed changes while
other committees have examined the proposal in detail
and have made recommendations regarding their acceptance by the GCPM in 2014. The various consultative
committees have laid down a number of criteria that must
be met before they will support the CCUs proposal, including:
At least three separate experiments be carried out
yielding values having a relative expanded (95%)
uncertainty of no more than 5 108 and at least one
of these values should be better than 2 108 . Both
the Watt balance and the Avogadro project should
be included in the experiments and any dierences
between these be reconciled.[41][42]

and the moleunits that Foster argued were not true base
units. Other issues raised by Foster fell outside the scope
of the proposal.[46]

6.1 Explicit-unit and explicit-constant definitions


Concerns have been expressed that the use of explicitconstant denitions of the unit being dened that are not
related to an example of its quantity will have many adverse eects.[47] Although this criticism applies to the
proposed linking of the kilogram to the Planck constant
via a route that requires a knowledge of both special relativity and quantum mechanics[48] it does not apply to the
proposed denition of the ampere which is closer to an
example of its quantity than is the current denition.[49]
Some observers have welcomed the proposal to base the
denition of electric current on the charge of the electron rather than the current denition of a force between
two parallel current-carrying wiressince the nature of
the electromagnetic interaction between two bodies at

8 NOTES

the quantum electrodynamics level is somewhat dierent from the nature at classical electrodynamic levels, it is
considered inappropriate to use classical electrodynamics
to dene quantities that exist at quantum electrodynamic
levels.[34]

stant into the denition of temperature was an unnecessary complication.

The Consultative Committee for Thermometry, part of


the International Committee for Weights and Measures
publishes a mise en pratique (practical technique), last
updated in 1990, for measuring temperature which, at
very low and at very high temperatures, makes great
6.2 Mass and the Avogadro constant
use of linking energy to temperature via the Boltzmann
[54][55]
When the scale of the divergence between the IPK and constant.
national kilogram prototypes was reported in 2005, a debate arose on how best to redene the kilogram - should
6.4 Luminous intensity
the kilogram be dened in terms of the mass of the
silicon-28 atom or should it be determined using the watt
Foster argued that luminous intensity [the candela] is not
balance? The mass of a silicon atom could be determined
a physical quantity, but a photobiological quantity that exusing the Avogadro project and using the Avogadro Numists in human perception thereby questioning whether or
[50]
ber be linked directly to the kilogram.
not the candela should be a base unit.[46]
Concern has also been expressed that the authors of
the proposal had failed to address the impact of breaking the link between the mole, kilogram, the dalton 7 See also
(Da), the Avogadro constant (NA) and Avogadros number (NN).[Note 7] This direct link has caused many to ar International System of Units
gue that the mole is not a true physical unit, but, in the
words of the Swedish philosopher Johansson, the mole is
International Vocabulary of Metrology
a scaling factor.[46][51]
Physical constant
The SI Brochure (8th edition) implicitly denes the dalton
as 0.001NN kg where the value of NN is determined by
experiment. The proposal xes NA, so if the Avogadro
constant and Avogadros number are to be numerically
identical, the dalton must be related to either the mass of
a single carbon atom or to the kilogram it cannot be
related to both.[52][53]

6.3

Temperature

Temperature is somewhat of an enigma - room temperature can be measured by means of expansion and contraction of a liquid in a thermometer, but high temperatures are often associated with a colour. Wojciech T.
Chyla, approaching the structure of SI from a philosophical point of view in the Journal of the Polish Physical
Society, argued that temperature is not a real base unit
but is rather an average of the thermal energies of the individual particles that make up the body concerned.[34]
He noted that in many theoretical papers, temperature is
represented by the quantities or where

= kb T ; =

1
kb T

and k is the Boltzmann constant.


Chyla acknowledged however that in the macroscopic
world temperature plays the role of a base unit as much
of the theory of thermodynamics is based on temperature.
Foster,[46] writing from the point of view of quality control argued that the introduction of the Boltzmann con-

SI base unit

8 Notes
[1] Prototype No. 8(41) was accidentally stamped with the
number 41, but its accessories carry the proper number
8. Since there is no prototype marked 8, this prototype is
referred to as 8(41).
[2] Since the adoption of SI in 1960, the metre had been dened in terms of the wavelength of krypton 86 radiation.
[3] In particular the CIPM was to prepare a detailed mise en
pratique for each the new denitions of the kilogram, ampere, kelvin and mole set by the 23rd CGPM[22]
[4] Measurement of the candela also requires a knowledge of
the response of the human eye to dierent wavelengths
of light known as the (luminosity function) and denoted
by V(), a function computed by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) to dierent wavelengths of
light.
[5] The dimensions of G are L3 M1 T2 , so once standards
have been established for length and for time, mass can in
theory be deduced from G.
[6] The following terms are dened in International vocabulary of metrology Basic and general concepts and associated terms:
measurement reproducibility - denition 2.25
standard measurement uncertainty - denition 2.30

9
relative standard measurement uncertainty - denition 2.32
[7] The two quantities of the Avogadro constant and Avogadros number are numerically the same, but while NA
has the units of mole1 , NN is a pure number.

References

[1] Michael Kuehne (22 March 2012). Redenition of the


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[53] Pavese, Franco (2011). Some reections on the proposed redenition of the unit for the amount of substance and of other SI units. Accreditation and Quality Assurance: Journal for Quality, Comparability and
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[54] "Mise en pratique for the denition of the kelvin.
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[55] Consultative Committee for Thermometry (CCT) (1989).


The International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS90)". Procs-verbaux du Comit International des Poids
et Mesures, 78th meeting (Svres, France: International
Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM)). Retrieved
25 June 2013.

10

External links

BIPM website on the New SI, including a FAQ page.


The New SI: Units of measurement based on fundamental constants

12

11

11
11.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses


Text

Proposed redenition of SI base units Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_redefinition_of_SI_base_units?oldid=


631149250 Contributors: Patrick, SGBailey, Julesd, Boson, Indefatigable, AnonMoos, Bkell, Perey, Bender235, Jlin, Jrme, Scott5114,
Egg, BD2412, NebY, Rjwilmsi, DVdm, Jimp, Gaius Cornelius, Holon, Ospalh, Mirokado, Chris the speller, Squigish, Pwjb, RomanSpa,
Hvn0413, Metre01, JRSpriggs, Cryptic C62, Maolmhuire, Myasuda, Headbomb, Arch dude, Magioladitis, RogierBrussee, Wikipetzi, Ross
Fraser, WOSlinker, Spinningspark, Adabow, Adamtester, Skiwi, Wdwd, Mild Bill Hiccup, Niceguyedc, Brews ohare, Johnuniq, Addbot,
T.c.w7468, Download, Luckas-bot, AnomieBOT, Archon 2488, Etoombs, Cactusthorn, A. di M., Thehelpfulbot, RGForbes, FrescoBot,
Sae1962, Martinvl, Orenburg1, RjwilmsiBot, ZroBot, Quondum, Matthiaspaul, Iamiyouareyou, Snotbot, Bibcode Bot, Vagobot, Rhinde,
Cli12345, BattyBot, Garamond Lethe, Khazar2, Moahh, Dexbot, SoledadKabocha, RobH103, Rastus Vernon, Coreyemotela, Rossoh
and Anonymous: 38

11.2

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