And how experiments begin: the international prototype kilogram and the Planck constant
Authors
Riordan, SallyEditors
de Courtenay, NadineDarrigol, Olivier
Schlaudt, Oliver
Issue Date
2019-01-15
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The artefact that has defined the kilogram since 1889 is to be retired and the kilogram will instead be defined by fixing the value of the Planck constant. In this paper, I detail some of the elements of this reform, believing that the case study should prompt philosophers to reassess the role scientific standards play in the progress of the physical sciences. A metrological account of scientific standards should explain metrology’s more theoretical motivations and also acknowledge its empirical contribution to the physical sciences. I present three theses towards this end. I develop a more thoroughgoing and yet much weaker version of Bridgman’s operational attitude. I present a picture of the physical sciences united by metrology. Finally, I present the case for a quiet form of realism that attempts to accommodate both the more theoretical and the more pragmatic motivations of the metrologist.Citation
Riordan, S. (2019) And how experiments begin: the international prototype kilogram and the Planck constant, in de Courtenay, N., Darrigol, O. and Schlaudt, O. (eds.) The reform of the International System of Units (SI): philosophical, historical and sociological issues. London: Routledge.Publisher
RoutledgeAdditional Links
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781351048972Type
Chapter in bookLanguage
enISBN
9781138483859Collections
The following licence applies to the copyright and re-use of this item:
- Creative Commons
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States