Unifying Of Standards

Northern Advocate, 2 September 1947, Page 6

Unifying Of Standards

Weights, Lengths . . .

(P.A.) WELLINGTON. This Day. An important movement is afoot to unify standards of weight and length in the various Dominions and the United States. said the Minister of Scientific and Industrial Research (Mr Nordmeyer) today. Although the differences amount to only about four parts in a million, it is thought that with the increased precision of. for example, engineering gauges, these differences might become of practical significance in a few decades.

The Minister said the present slight variations in standards in various countries were due to differences in the original bars and weights adopted as standards. This was caused by the limited degree of accuracy of measurement attainable at the time and to slight changes in the length of standard bais which were not in all instances constructed of a metal which was unalterable in length over long periods. APPROACH U.S. Following the decision of the British Commonwealth Science Conference last year. Sir Charles Darwin, director of the National Physical Laboratory in Britain was authorised to approach the head of the United States Bureau of Standards, suggesting uniform standards based on international metric standards.. 'As a result it has now been recommended to all Governments that the inch should be defined as equal to exactly 25.4 millimeters, and the lb as equal to exactly .4535923 kilograms. The latter figure is exactly divisible by 7GC’J, which is the number of grains in a lb, so there will be exact multiple relationship between the grain and the gram. Mr Nordmeyer said fortunately New Zealand legislation provides for New Zealand units to be based on those in Britain.