The International Bureau of Weights and Measures is an intergovernmental organisation, through which its 64 member-states act on measurement standards in areas including chemistry, ionising radiation, physical metrology, as well as the International System of Units (SI) and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). It is based in Saint-Cloud, near Paris, France. The organisation has been referred to as IBWM in older literature.
Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in France when a length standard taken from a natural source was proposed. This led to the creation of the decimal-based metric system in 1795, establishing a set of standards for other types of measurements. Several other countries adopted the metric system between 1795 and 1875; to ensure conformity between the countries, the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) was established by the Metre Convention. This has evolved into the International System of Units (SI) as a result of a resolution at the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in 1960.
The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is the national metrology institute of the Federal Republic of Germany, with scientific and technical service tasks. It is a higher federal authority and a public-law institution directly under federal government control, without legal capacity, under the auspices of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
The Federal Department of Justice and Police is one of the seven departments of the Swiss federal government, and is equivalent to a ministry of justice in other countries. As of 2024, it is headed by Federal Councillor Beat Jans. Until 1979, the department was known as the Department of Justice and Police.
A Kibble balance is an electromechanical measuring instrument that measures the weight of a test object very precisely by the electric current and voltage needed to produce a compensating force. It is a metrological instrument that can realize the definition of the kilogram unit of mass based on fundamental constants.
The International Organization of Legal Metrology, is an intergovernmental organisation that was created in 1955 to promote the global harmonisation of the legal metrology procedures that underpin and facilitate international trade.
Alacrite is a family of cobalt-based alloys. The alloy exhibits useful mechanical properties and is oxidation- and sulfidation-resistant.
Metrologia is a bimonthly journal dealing with the scientific aspects of metrology. It has been running since 1965 and has been published by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures since 1991. Since 2003 the journal has been published by IOP Publishing on behalf of the bureau. The journal covers the fundamentals of measurements, in particular those dealing with the seven base units of the International System of Units or proposals to replace them.
Tadeusz Żyliński was a Polish technician, textilist and mechanical engineer. He was a professor of Technical University of Łódź, creator of Polish school of textile metrology. Author of Metrologia włókiennicza and Nauka o włóknie.
The term fundamental station is used for special observatories which combine several space positioning techniques like VLBI, satellite laser ranging, GPS, Glonass, etc. They are the basis of plate tectonic analysis, allowing the monitoring of continental drift rates with millimetre accuracies. A fundamental point is the geometric origin of a geodetic network and defines the geodetic datum of a national survey.
The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), based in Bern, is an agency of the federal administration of Switzerland responsible for patents, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and copyright.
The Swiss Institute of Comparative Law is an agency of the federal administration of Switzerland charged with research and consultancy in comparative law.
Metres above the Adriatic is the vertical datum used in Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia to measure elevation, referring to the average water level of the Adriatic Sea at the Sartorio mole in the Port of Trieste.
Ronald Edward Zupko was an authority on historical metrology with an academic background in medieval history. He was known for his books on the history of weights and measures, and had written numerous dictionary and encyclopedia entries on historical measurement units.
The French Laboratoire national de métrologie et d'essais is a reference laboratory responsible for carrying out measurement and testing products of all kinds for their certification for placing them on the market. It also coordinates metrology activities in France. It was previously known as the Laboratoire national d'essais (LNE), and still uses those initials.
The Arab Organization for Standardization and Metrology, also known as Arab Organization for Standardization and Measures, was founded in 1965 as a specialized agency under the Arab League by the Council of Arab Economic Unity.
Smart Metrology is a modern approach to industrial metrology. The name was introduced by Jean-Michel Pou and Laurent Leblond, a French meteorologist and a French statistician. The term was coined in their book, La Smart Metrology: De la métrologie des instruments à la métrologie des décisions. It was then adopted by Deltamu, a French company providing services in the field of industrial metrology.
Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries is an intergovernmental and one of the 17 affiliated organizations of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Its primary focus is on standardization and metrology technical elements. It is principally focused on the procedures for the removal of technical barriers concerning standards covering materials, manufacturers and products. It coordinates with the 37 member states and two observers for the administrative tasks for the trade development within the framework of the OIC.
KWAN-TEK is a French company that specializes in the development and commercialization of metrology solutions based on diamond quantum sensors.
