The International System of Units and the Electrical Measurements

• Main Authors: Marcos Eduardo Bierzychudek, Héctor Laiz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de Buenos Aires 2019-12-01
• Series: Revista Elektrón
• Subjects: constantes de referencia; mediciones; metrologı́a; sistema internacional de unidades; unidades de base
• Online Access: http://elektron.fi.uba.ar/index.php/elektron/article/view/81

We constantly use the results of measurements to trade, to take decisions, to reach compatibility between elements or to evaluate risks. The International System of Units (SI) is essential to express these results in a clear and comparable way. The SI is part of a diplomatic convention whose objective is to achieve international compatibility for trade, science, and sustainable development. Recently, a new definition of the SI has been approved, in which the system is defined in terms of seven reference constants whose numerical values are established by convention. In this way, the kilogram is disconnected from an artifact, the ampere from a theoretical experiment, and the kelvin and mole leave the definitions based on the property of a substance. Now, all the units of the system can be derived from the reference constants. The aim of this redefinition is to reach long-term stability, consistency, and coherence of the system, and to create a formal framework that fosters the growth of science and technology. This article focuses on the effects of redefinition in electrical units.