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Scientific news from division 1

Scientific news 2004

Fundamentals of Metrology

In 2003, after successful acceptance tests, the hydrodynamic test field (see Figure 1) of PTB was commissioned as national standard facility for the quantities of flowrate and totalised water flow. With first commercial calibrations and a project carried out for industry, high-accuracy measurement capabilities could already be testified to the facility.
But the standard flow facility...

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In the ion accumulation experiment aimed at linking the atomic mass unit up with the kilogram, a new ion source has been implemented to generate a bismuth ion beam and accumu-late the bismuth ions. It had turned out that the ion source for gold ions so far used did not serve to generate a sufficiently high ion current. The oven version of the new CHORDIS plasma ion source now for the first time...

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Es wurde eine neue Messeinrichtung für periodische Kräfte bis 10 kN aufgebaut und erprobt. Die Anlage besteht aus einem Schwingerregersystem mit einem maximalen Sinuskraftvektor von 17,8 kN. Die wirksamen Kräfte werden aus der wirksamen Masse und ihrer Beschleunigung ermittelt, die mittels Beschleunigungsaufnehmer oder noch exakter direkt mit Laservibrometern und zugehöriger Auswertetechniken...

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After more than 40 years of use, the 50 kg beam balance of the PTB which has been used in the mass range from 20 kg to 50 kg for the realisation of the mass scale and dissemination of the unit of mass has been replaced by a mass comparator of the latest generation. So now a weighing technology in accordance with the state of the art is also applied in this mass range. The result of this...

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Metrology for Economy

Initial investigations into the applicability of a short test method for the reduction of transmitted impact sound through the use of soft floor coverings have been carried out within the scope of a scientific cooperation with the Research Institute for Leather and Plastic Sheets (FILK). The important advantage of the short test method is that the use of a building acoustic test suite is...

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Zur hochpräzisen, berührungslosen Messung der Momentangeschwindigkeit der Stoßkörper an der Kraftstoß-Normal-Messeinrichtung der PTB mit einem Heterodyninterferometer wird neuerdings ein auf den Körper geklebtes Si-Reflexionsgitter als Retroreflektor eingesetzt. Dies eliminiert das sonst stets vorhandene Specklerauschen auf dem Fotodetektor. Zur Geschwindigkeitsermittlung muss dann dessen...

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Metrology for Society

Uncertainties are currently not taken into consideration with the required degree of transparency in most applications in building acoustics. To initiate progress in this matter, a project has been allocated to the PTB working group "Building Acoustics" by the Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik, the highest building authority in Germany.

The investigations are carried out in the example of...

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In May 2004, the new experimentation and water meter test rig (EWZP) of PTB's department "Liquid flow" could be put into operation. It extends the measuring range of the Hydrodynamic test field towards small flows and is especially designed for the control and metrological testing of domestic water meters.

The most important metrological characteristics of the test rig are:

  • Volumetric...
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Since the coming into force of the new Proof Firing Act (BeschG), launching cups used as additional appliances for the loading of pyrotechnic ammunition in signal weapons must be approved by PTB. As this also applies to old stocks, a large number of gas pressure and velocity tests had to be carried out with simulation bodies.

Since the coming into force of the new Proof Firing Act in April...

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Lately, the first point-of-sales device for weighing instruments with the possibility of downloading software for applications subject to legal control could be verified in accordance with the new European regulation (WELMEC 2.3, Annex III, 2002).

As to the operators of point-of-sales devices for weighing instruments, the software of the systems to be installed must meet the most...

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International Affairs

The measurement and calibration capabilities of the working group "acceleration" have been substantially extended in recent times with respect to larger measurement range and lower uncertainties [1]. For the Amplitude of the complex sensitivity coefficient of accelerometers PTB has proven its unique capabilities only recently in the international key comparison for the unit of acceleration...

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Die PTB nahm sehr erfolgreich an einem Ringvergleich zur Volumenbestimmung mit insgesamt 18 beteiligten europäischen Metrologieinstituten teil. Die Standardabweichung der Volumenbestimmung eines als Transfernormal verwendeten 5-Liter-Eichkolbens aus Glas auf dem Pipettenprüfstand der PTB lag deutlich unter den Werten der anderen Teilnehmer und stellt einen internationalen Spitzenwert dar.

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