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The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (French:Bureau international des poids et mesures), is an international standards organization. It is commonly referred to by its French initials of BIPM and it is one of three such organizations established to maintain the International System of Units (SI) under the terms of the Metre Convention (French:Convention du Mètre).
The other organizations that maintain the SI system are the General Conference on Weights and Measures (French:Conférence générale des poids et mesures) (CGPM) and the International Committee for Weights and Measures (French:Comité international des poids et mesures) (CIPM).
History
The BIPM was created in May 1875, following the signing of the Metre Convention by 17 nations, a treaty which now has 51 signatory nations (as of 2008).[1][2] The BIPM headquarters are located in Sèvres, France, where it enjoys extraterritorial status.
Function
Under the authority of the Metric Convention, the BIPM helps to ensure uniformity of SI weights and measures around the world. It does so through its own laboratory work as well as through a series of consultative committees, whose members are the national metrology laboratories of the Convention's member states.
The BIPM carries out measurement-related research, organizes international comparisons of national measurement standards, and performs calibrations for member states.
The BIPM has an important role in maintaining accurate worldwide time of day. It combines, analyzes, and averages the official atomic time standards of member nations around the world to create a single, official Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
References
- ↑ Brief history of the SI From the BIPM website
- ↑ International aspects of the SI From the NIST website
See also
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
External links