And how experiments begin: the international prototype kilogram and the Planck constant

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.

Type

Chapter in book

Language

en

Description

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Routledge in The reform of the International System of Units (SI): philosophical, historical and sociological issues on 15/01/2019, available online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351048989 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.

ISBN

9781138483859

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States

cbn

Collections

Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing