Progress on Vacuum-to-Air Mass Calibration System Using Magnetic Suspension to Disseminate the Planck-Constant Realized Kilogram

Published

October 2, 2014

Author(s)

Eric Benck, Patrick J. Abbott, Zeina J. Kubarych

Abstract

The kilogram is the unit of mass in the International System of units (SI) and has been defined as the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK) since 1889. In the future, a new definition of the kilogram will be based on precise measurements of the Planck constant. The new definition will occur in a vacuum environment by necessity, so NIST is developing a mass calibration system in which a kilogram artifact in air can be directly compared with a kilogram realized in a vacuum environment. This apparatus uses magnetic levitation to couple the kilogram in air to a high precision mass balance in vacuum. Technical details of the levitation technique, the vacuum-to-air calibration system, and vehicles for transferring masses into and out of vacuum will be presented.

Proceedings Title

CPEM 2014 Conference Digest

Conference Dates

August 24-29, 2014

Conference Location

Rio De Janeiro , BR

Conference Title

Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements (CPEM)

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

Magnetic levitation, mass metrology, Planck constant, revised SI, SI units, watt balance

Citation

Benck, E. , Abbott, P. and Kubarych, Z. (2014), Progress on Vacuum-to-Air Mass Calibration System Using Magnetic Suspension to Disseminate the Planck-Constant Realized Kilogram, CPEM 2014 Conference Digest, Rio De Janeiro , BR, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=915397 (Accessed May 9, 2026)

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