Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Optimizing Acoustic Measurements of the Boltzmann Constant

Published

Author(s)

Michael R. Moldover

Abstract

We review the progress in acoustic metrology of gases that has occurred since the 1988 measurement of the universal gas constant R using a spherical acoustic resonator. The advances in understanding resonators and in calculating the thermophysical properties of helium ab intio suggest that today one could determine Boltzmann's constant kB from acoustic measurements using either helium or argon with a relative uncertainty less that 10-6.
Citation
Comptes Rendus De L Academie Des Sciences Serie II Fascicule B-Mecanique Physique Astronomie
Volume
10

Keywords

acoustics, acoustic resonators, acoustic thermometry, Boltzmann constant, fundamental constants, resonators, speed of sound, thermometry

Citation

Moldover, M. (2009), Optimizing Acoustic Measurements of the Boltzmann Constant, Comptes Rendus De L Academie Des Sciences Serie II Fascicule B-Mecanique Physique Astronomie, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=902117 (Accessed March 29, 2024)
Created November 22, 2009, Updated February 19, 2017