A measurement first: 'Noise thermometry' system measures Boltzmann Constant
Thursday, March 31, 2011 - 16:31
in Physics & Chemistry
Researchers have for the first time used an apparatus that relies on the "noise" of jiggling electrons to make highly accurate measurements of the Boltzmann constant, an important value for many scientific calculations. The technique is simpler and more compact than other methods for measuring the constant and could advance international efforts to revamp the world's scientific measurement system.