The International System of Units (SI) is the world's most widely used system of measurement, used every day in commerce and science, and is the modern form of the metric system. It currently comprises the meter (m), the kilogram (kg), the second (s), the ampere (A), the kelvin (K), the candela (cd) and the mole (mol)). The system is changing though, units and unit definitions are modified through international agreements as the technology of measurement progresses, and as the precision of measurements improves. The SI is now being redefined based on constants of nature and their realization by quantum standards. Therefore, the underlying physics and technologies will receive increasing interest, and not only in the metrology community but in all fields of science. This book introduces and explains the applications of modern physics concepts to metrology, the science and the applications of measurements. A special focus is made on the use of quantum standards for the realization of the forthcoming new SI (the international system of units). The basic physical phenomena are introduced on a level which provides comprehensive information for the experienced reader but also provides a guide for a more intense study of these phenomena for students.
About the Author
Prof. Ernst O. Göbel was president of the PTB, the German national metrology institute from 1995 until the end of 2011. He obtained his degrees from the Johann-Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt (diploma) and University Stuttgart (PhD), Germany. After a postdoctoral stay at Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, USA, he continued his scientific career at Stuttgart University, and subsequently at the Max-Planck-Institut for Solid State Physics in Stuttgart, Germany. In 1985 he was appointed full professor at the Philipps-University in Marburg, Germany. His main areas of expertise are solid state physics, in particular semiconductor physics, laser physics and metrology. He has published more than 350 scientific articles and received several scientific awards such as the Leibnitz-prize of the German Research Ass. (DFG) and the Max-Born Award jointly provided by the Institute of Physics (London) and the German Physical Society (DPG). He is member of several academies, e.g. the Berlin-Brandenburgische Academy of Science, Acatech - the German Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Science Ukraine, and the Metrology Academy of Russia.
