NIST PUBLICATiONSl IMBSIR 75-949 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE NATIONAL MEASUREMENT SYSTEM Raymond C. Sangster Technical Report in connection with the IBS Study of the National Measurement System 1972-1975 Office of the Deputy Directer Institute for Basic Standards National Bureau of Standards Boulder, Colorado 80302 July 1977 -QC — 100 U55 1977 NBSIR 75-949 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE NATIONAL MEASUREMENT SYSTEM Raymond C. Sangster Technical Report in connection with the IBS Study of the National Measurement System 1972-1975 Office of the Deputy Directer Institute for Basic Standards National Bureau of Standards Boulder, Colorado 80302 July 1977 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary Sidney Harman, Under Secretary Jordan J. Baruch, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Ambler, Acting Director FOREWORD The concept of a National Measurement System has, for many years, provided a useful focus for the considerations important to physical measurements in our technology intensive economy. Dr. R. D. Huntoon, in his October 6, 1967, article in Science , emphasized the basis for a systems viewpoint in interrelated measurements activities and the idea has continued to evolve. Today, we think of the U.S. National Measurement System in terms of all the intellectual, functional and institutional activities which enter into measurements throughout our society. More- over, we seek to understand more completely the structural nature of this system and its architectural needs. There have been a number of approaches to the study of our national system for physical measurements. The present series of studies was initiated in 1972 by Dr. Ernest Ambler, then Director of the Institute for Basic Standards. It was Dr. Ambler's purpose to organize the essen- tial information necessary for the effective management of NBS resources and to promote the direct interaction between IBS staff members and the communities of users they serve. This document reflects the results of the intensive studies carried out during the period from 1972 - 1975. It is one of a series of 27 reports describing various aspects of these studies; most of these are now in print and available from NBS or the National Technical Information Service. It is important to recognize that the National Measurement System is extremely complex having widely distributed elements and impacts. The detailed analysis of this system is well beyond the state-of-the-art of econometric modeling, and therefore, any study, no matter how intensive, is necessarily incomplete. Nevertheless, the information which is now in hand provides an important addition to our capability for planning and implementing the programs of IBS. It also represents a growing foundation upon which we can continue our efforts to build a more effective structure. A. 0. McCoubrey Director, Institute for Basic Standards National Bureau of Standards June 1977 ii PREFACE The 1972-75 Study of the National Measurement System by the NBS Institute for Basic Standards has been a massive effort involving many people in all divisions of the Institute. The Study was organized around a central coordinator and a group of "National Measurement System Study representatives". The initial central coordinator was Dr. James R. Seed, a Presidential Interchange Executive from Dow Chemical Company, on temporary assignment to the National Bureau of Standards. Dr. Seed carried the project through to the generation of a complete set of comprehensive reports on the structure and operation of the various por- tions of the System, in December 1973. In August 1974, I took over the central coordinator position, and worked with the Study representatives from the divisions of the Institute, to round out the pattern of the Study and to develop the final reports for the different areas of measurement interest. During this 1972-75 Study, a substantial amount of insight was developed into the structure and functions of that System. This insight is the subject matter of this report. The report proper describes the technical and institutional infra- structures of the System, the international context in which it operates, and the basic impacts and trends of the System. The balance of this document contains appendices and an extended bibliography, which provide detail regarding specific aspects of the System. No report of this sort could be generated without many hours spent at the typewriter. This one would not exist without the competent and unstinting efforts of my secretaries and everyone else whom they could obtain to support them, and I wish to thank them, one and all: Carol Ciufolo, M'Srty Tyner, Pamela Killian, Angela DiGiallonardo, Sheila Aaker, Sue Randolph, Nancy Mills, Kay Stephenson, Shirley Deeg, and Dorries Schaffner. We trust that the availability of this document will be useful to many readers who need only an overview of the results of our Study of the National Measurement System. For those who want more detailed information about any part of this study, we have provided a "Report Request Card" at the back of this document, which can be used to request the specific reports wanted. Raymond C. Sangster July 1977 iii CONTENTS FOREWORD ii PREFACE iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1 . INTRODUCTION , 3 1.1 Background 3 1.2 Functions of Measurement ...... 3 1.3 Process of Measurement ...... 5 1.4 Concept of a National Measurement System . 5 ' ' 1.5 Structure of This Report . " 6 '. '. '. '. '. '. '. '.'. 2. ELEMENTS OF THE SYSTEM '.. '. '. '. '. '.[ '. '. '. '. 7 Model of * ' 2.0 the System , 7 2.1 Measurement Quantities, Units and Standards 7 2.2 Technical Infrastructure 9 2.2.1 Documentary Specifications 11 2.2.2 Measurement Instrumentation 13 2.2.3 Reference Data ........ 17 2.2.4 Reference Materials 20 2.2.5 Predictive Methods ....... 22 2.2.6 Fundamental Constants 22 2.2.7 Science and People 23 2.3 Realized Measurement Capabilities 25 2.4 Institutional Infrastructure 25 2.4.1 Standardization Institutions 25 2.4.2 The Instrumentation Industry 29 2.4.3 State and Local Offices of Weights and Measures 29 2.4.4 Standards and Testing Laboratories and Services 33 2.4.5 Regulatory Agencies 35 2.4.6 The National Bureau of Standards 37 2.4.6.1 The Present--Scope of NBS Services 37 2.4.6.2 Alternate Sources for Services Provided by NBS 39 2.4.6.3 NBS Funding and Staffing 41 2.4.6.4 Evaluation Panels and Visiting Committee 43 2.5 The Measurements Market Place: The Direct Measurements Transactions Matrices 43 3. THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT 45 4. IMPACT AND TRENDS OF MEASUREMENT SYSTEM 47 4.1 Impact of Measurements 47 4.1.1 Functional, Technological, and Scientific Applications 47 4.1.2 Economic Considerations 48 4.2 Trends of the National Measurement System 49 4.2.1 Increased Complexity of the National Measurement System 49 4.2.2 Increased Integration of the National Measurement System 52 4.2.3 Improved Quality Control in the National Measurement System 52 4.2.4 Improved Information Resources for the National Measurement System . 53 4.2.5 Automation of Measurements 54 4.2.6 Metrication 55 4.2.7 Science 56 5. SUMMARY 57 APPENDIX A. MEASUREMENT SYSTEM INTERACTION DIAGRAMS 59 APPENDIX B. INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS 68 APPENDIX C. NBS NATIONAL MEASUREMENT REFERENCE STANDARD ARTIFACTS, INSTRUMENTS AND FACILITIES 70 APPENDIX D. NATIONAL STANDARD REFERENCE DATA SYSTEM PUBLICATIONS 74 APPENDIX E. U.S. PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED IN NBS REFERENCE COLLECTION OF STANDARDS 79 APPENDIX F. STATE AND LOCAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ACTIVITY SUMMARY (EXCERPTS) 1974-75. 83 APPENDIX 6. DIRECTORY OF STANDARDS LABORATORIES AND CAPABILITIES 88 APPENDIX H. NBS CALIBRATION ACTIVITY SUMMARY FOR FISCAL YEAR 1975 95 APPENDIX J. USERS OF NBS OUTPUTS, 1970-75 100 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS 105 AUTHOR INDEX 132 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Chart of measurement quantities 4 Figure 2. Egyptian Royal Cubit 6 Figure 3. Flow diagram of the National Measurement System 9 Figure 4. The modernized metric system - SI base and supplementary units 10 Figure 5. Standards of physical measurement 12 Figure 6. Krypton-86 lamp in its cryostat 16 Figure 7. Cesium-beam atomic clock 16 Figure 8. Schematic of an atomic beam clock 16 Figure 9. Experimental realization of the candela 16 Figure 10. Josephson Junction standard voltage source . 16 Figure 11. Photoelectric interferometric comparator 18 Figure 12. Automated Y-factor mm-wave noise measurement system 18 Figure 13. Deadweight machine 18 Figure 14. Proving rings 18 Figure 15. Temperature measurement sensors 20 Figure 16. Location of measurement and control instrumentation companies 27 Figure 17. Measuring, analysis & control instrumentation industries expenditures & sales 28 Figure 18. Instruments show variable trends 30 Figure 19. Location of weights & measures governmental jurisdictions & personnel ... 32 Figure 20. Location of members of National Conference of Standards Laboratories ... 33 Figure 21. Air Force measurements standards system 34 Figure 22. Army calibration system traceability chart 34 Figure 23. United States Navy temperature calibration chain 36 Figure 24. Energy Research and Development Administration National Measurement System Subsystem 36 Figure 25. Other agency funding sources 41 Figure 26. Composition of staff 41 Figure 27. Model of the international measurement system 45 Figure 28. International coordination of measurement standards 46 Figure 29. Composition of U.S. labor force, 1860-1980 50 Figure B-1. Metric conversion card 69 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Functions of measurements 5 Table 2. Traverse of the National Measurement System Model 8 Table 3. Measurement instrumentation categories and suppliers 14 Table 4. Calibration chain example: tire inflation pressure 15 Table 5. Primary fixed points on International Practical Temperature Scale IPTS-68 . 20 Table 6. Table of Contents from catalog of NBS standard reference materials .... 21 Table 7. Realized measurement capabilities 26 Table 8. 1974 Profile, instruments for measurement, analysis and control 30 Table 9.