An electronic measurement of the Boltzmann constant

Published

March 30, 2011

Author(s)

Samuel P. Benz, Alessio Pollarolo, Jifeng Qu, Horst Rogalla, Chiharu Urano, Weston L. Tew, Paul D. Dresselhaus, D. R. White

Abstract

The Boltzmann constant was measured by comparing the Johnson noise of a resistor at the triple point of water with a quantum-based voltage reference signal generated with a superconducting Josephson-junction waveform synthesizer. The measured value of k = 1.380651(18)×10^23 J/K is consistent with the current CODATA value and the combined uncertainties. This is our first measurement of k with this electronic technique, and the first noise thermometry measurement to achieve a relative combined uncertainty of 13 parts in 10^6. We describe the most recent improvements to our Johnson Noise Thermometer that enabled the statistical uncertainty contribution to be reduced to seven parts in 10^6, as well as the further reduction of spurious systematic errors and EMI effects. The uncertainty budget for this measurement is discussed in detail.

Citation

Metrologia

Volume

48

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Boltzmann equation, Correlation, Digital-analog conversion, Josephson arrays, Measurement units, Noise Measurement, Quantization, Signal synthesis, Standards, Temperature.

Citation

Benz, S. , Pollarolo, A. , Qu, J. , Rogalla, H. , Urano, C. , Tew, W. , Dresselhaus, P. and White, D. (2011), An electronic measurement of the Boltzmann constant, Metrologia, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=907640 (Accessed October 13, 2025)