Metric News
Metric Week Begins October 9!
October, 2011
Counting the seconds until Metric Week (Oct. 9-15, 2011) begins? That’s the spirit! Seconds are the metric unit of time. You also could figure your distance in meters (the metric unit of length) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) labs in Gaithersburg, Md., where it’s metric all year round. Read More.
'SI' on the New SI: NIST Backs Proposal for a Revamped System of Measurement Units
October, 2010
Taking the first steps of what would be a major historical advance in the science of measurement, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is participating in a worldwide effort to recommend major revisions to the International System of Units (SI), the modern metric system that is the basis of global measurements in commerce, science and other aspects of everyday life. The new SI, which would be based on seven constants of nature, would enable researchers around the world to express the results of measurements at new levels of consistency and accuracy. Read More.
Metric Week Begins 10/10/10
October, 2010
Every day is a metric day at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). But that won’t stop the agency from celebrating Metric Week, held annually the week of Oct. 10—the tenth day of the tenth month. Read More.
Proposed Rules Would Allow Metric Labeling for Some Products
June, 2010
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued two publications calling for the amendment of labeling laws to allow the voluntary use of only metric units on some consumer products. NIST researchers hope that adoption of metric labeling will lead to greater agreement between state and federal labeling laws and simplify domestic and international commerce. Read More.
How Deep are Earth's Oceans?
May, 2010
Using satellite measurements, researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, have come with up with a new ocean volume figure. The study’s calculation of the ocean’s mean depth is 3,682.2 meters, which is 21 - 51 meters less than previous estimates. Read More.
Celebration of World Metrology Day
May, 2010
NIST will hold its fourth annual celebration of World Metrology Day on Thursday, May 20, 2010. The Metre Convention was signed on 20 May 1875, a date now celebrated as World Metrology Day. The Convention created the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) and set the framework for global collaboration in the science of measurement and in its industrial, commercial and societal application. The original aim of the Metre Convention – the worldwide uniformity of measurement – remains as important today, in 2010, as it was in 1875. Read More.
SI Educational Opportunity at NIST
April, 2010
On Friday, April 16, 2010, 10:30 am, Terry Quinn, Director Emeritus, BIPM will present "The Metre, The Kilogram and the Creation of the BIPM" during the NIST Colloquium Series. The event will be held at the NIST Administration building, Green Auditorium. Anyone outside NIST wishing to attend must be sponsored by a NIST employee and receive a visitor badge. Read More.
EU Metric-Only Labeling Directive Revised
May, 2009
The EU Metric Directive (80/181/EEC), scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2010, has been modified to allow the continuation of both supplemental (U.S. customary, inch-pound) and metric units for consumer goods sold in the EU. The rule was published on May 7, 2009 in the Official Journal of the European Union PDF.
The Directive instructs the European Commission to produce a report to the Parliament and Council regarding the smooth functioning of the internal market and international acceptance of SI units by December 31, 2019, including proposals where appropriate.
Demonstrated progress will be important for U.S. stakeholders to achieve long-term acceptance of supplemental units in the EU. Modifying the U.S. Fair Package and Labeling Act (FPLA), which currently requires dual labeling, to permit optional metric labeling is an example where greater international marketplace acceptance of SI units can be achieved.
NIST Metrology Day Celebrates Measurements in the Market
April, 2009
The next time you shop for frozen seafood, and the price per pound seems enticingly low, make sure that you are really getting a full 16 ounces of fish. Unethical merchants or suppliers may try to have you pay fish prices for ice by including the weight of the ice, not just the weight of the fish. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will celebrate World Metrology Day on May 20 by holding a symposium in Gaithersburg, Md. The symposium on “Measurements in Commerce: Metrology Underpinning Economic Development” will emphasize how measurement science and standards play an everyday role in our global economy.
Lisa Weddig, the director of regulatory and technical affairs at the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) in McLean, Va., will describe international trade and the importance of accurate measurements for seafood products, which represent billions of pounds of commerce every year. Fair competition between seafood suppliers only becomes possible when all sellers declare the proper weight on seafood products and avoid deceptive practices such as substituting a cheaper species of fish for the one listed on the label. NFI members have established the Better Seafood Board to ensure that fair trade exists with proper declarations on seafood products. Read More.
SI (Metric) Measurements Help U.S. Healthcare Industry Increase Patient Safety
April, 2008
In April 2008 the Joint Commission, formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), an independent, not-for-profit healthcare organization accreditation and certification body, issued a Sentinel Alert PDF to accredited organizations that all pediatric patients should be weighted in kilograms (kg) at the time of admission, including outpatient and ambulatory clinics, or within 4 hours of admission in an emergency situation. The Joint Commission states that kilograms should be the standard nomenclature for weight on prescriptions, medical records, and staff communications. Medication errors are believed to be the most common type of medical error and are a significant cause of preventable adverse events.
U.S. healthcare institutions, such as the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt PDF, Nashville, Tennessee and the Austin Medical Center, Mayo Health System PDF, Austin, Minnesota, are increasingly switching to exclusive SI measurements for patient care to lower the potential for patient safety errors and increase quality patient care. Examples include modifying scales to measure in only grams and kilograms, using Celsius thermometers instead of Fahrenheit, measuring length in terms of meters, and maintaining metric record and documentation systems. Hospitals are working to education patients in areas such as the newborn nurseries and emergency rooms, where customary (inch-pound) units have historically been used.
Hydrogen Energy to Expand Use of the SI
April, 2008
New technologies present opportunities for increasing the use of the SI (metric system). For example, the U.S. National Work Group for the Development of Commercial Hydrogen Measurement Standards - Fuel Specification Sub-committee has proposed Hydrogen Fuel Method of Sale based on basis of the kilogram (kg) and the pascal (Pa) in commercial sales and on street signs. If implemented, the U.S. approach would be consistent with the global hydrogen marketplace in terms of the method of sale. Learn More.
NIST Offers U.S. Interpretations of Recent SI (Metric) Changes
March, 2008
NIST has issued a new American version of the English language SI Brochure, the eight edition of the international standard reference guide to the metric system. The SI plays an essential role in trade and commerce and is the common language of scientific and technological research and development.
The 2008 edition of NIST Special Publications (SP) 330, the International System of Units (SI), cover correct U.S. usage of metric units. In another update, NIST SP 811, Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI), complements SP 330, and is published to assist NIST authors and others in correct SI usage and unit conversion. An extensive conversion factor appendix offers help in measurement unit conversions and in appropriate rounding-off of data. SP 811 also provides an editorial checklist for reviewing manuscripts' conformity with the SI and the basic principles of physical quantities and units. A color diagram has been added that illustrates the utilization of the SI base units in defining the 22 derived units with special names and symbols. Read More and Download Documents.
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