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Stopwatch and Timer Calibrations Table 2 - Unit values, dimensionless values, and percentages. Time uncertainty Length of test Dimensionless uncertainty (literal) Dimensionless uncertainty (scientific notation) Percentage uncertainty (%) 1 s 1 minute 1 part per 60 1.67 × 10 -2 1.67 1 s 1 hour 1 part per 3600 2.78 × 10 -4 0.027 8 1 s 1 day 1 part per 86 400 1.16 × 10 -5 0.001 16 1 s 100 s 1 part per hundred 1 × 10 -2 1 1 s 1000 s 1 part per thousand 1 × 10 -3 0.1 1 s 10 000 s 1 part per 10 thousand 1 × 10 -4 0.01 1 s 100 000 s 1 part per 100 thousand 1 × 10 -5 0.001 1 ms 100 s 1 part per 100 thousand 1 × 10 -5 0.001 1 ms 1000 s 1 part per million (1 ppm) 1 × 10 -6 0.000 1 1 ms 10 000 s 1 part per 10 million 1 × 10 -7 0.000 01 1 ms 100 000 s 1 part per 100 million 1 × 10 -8 0.000 001 1.B. A Brief Overview of Calibrations Like all calibrations, stopwatch and timer calibrations are simply comparisons between the device under test (DUT) and a measurement reference, or standard. When a stopwatch or timer is calibrated, either a time interval standard or a frequency standard is used as the measurement reference. If a time interval standard is used, it is compared to the DUT’s display. If a frequency standard is used, it is compared to the DUT’s time base oscillator. Both types of calibrations are described in detail later in this guide. Most of the calibrations described in this guide are laboratory calibrations, as opposed to fi eld calibrations. To understand what this means, consider an example where a stopwatch is calibrated in the laboratory against a standard, and a calibration certificate and/or sticker are issued to the customer. That same stopwatch or timer can then be thought of as a fi eld standard, a working standard, or a transfer standard, and used as the measurement reference during a fi eld calibration. In other words, it can be brought outside the laboratory and used to calibrate another timing device, such as a parking meter. The same 4
Introduction basic principles that apply to laboratory calibrations apply to field calibrations, although laboratory calibrations generally take longer and are made much more carefully because the required measurement uncertainties are smaller. Devices that are field calibrated are generally not used as a measurement reference for performing other calibrations. Instead, they are working instruments used for scientific, business, or legal purposes. Therefore, their calibration can be thought of as a periodic test or inspection that ensures that these devices are working properly and meeting their specifications. Common sense dictates that the measurement reference for any calibration (either the laboratory reference or the field standard) must always outperform the devices it needs to test. A parking meter, for example, might have an acceptable uncertainty of 1 % when timing a 5 minute interval (±3 s). A field standard stopwatch used to test a parking meter should be certified to an uncertainty small enough so that it contributes no significant uncertainty to the parking meter calibration. In other words, we need to be able to trust our reference so that we can trust our measurement of the DUT. When a laboratory calibration is completed, the metrologist has determined the offset 1 of the DUT with respect to the reference. This offset can be stated as a percentage or in units of time interval or frequency (or both) on the calibration certificate, and should be quantified with a statement of measurement uncertainty. Field calibrations are generally “pass/fail” calibrations. This means that the device is tested to see whether it meets its intended or legal metrology requirements, and it either passes or fails. If it fails, it is removed from service until it can be adjusted, repaired, or replaced. 1.C. Traceability and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) As previously discussed, when a device is calibrated by comparing it to a measurement reference, the reference must be more accurate (have lower measurement uncertainties) than the DUT.Otherwise, the measurement results will be invalid. How do we know the accuracy of the measurement reference The answer is: we only know its accuracy if it has been recently compared to a more accurate standard. That more accurate standard 1 The term ‘offset’ is commonly used in the discipline of frequency and time measurement and will be used throughout this text. In terms of the ISO Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement [2], the offset would be considered the measurement result. 5
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