JCGM 200 2008 International vocabulary of general

1 JCGM 200:2008 International vocabulary of metrology Basic and general concepts and associated terms (VIM) Vocabulaire International de m trologie Concepts fondamentaux et g n raux et termes associ s (VIM) JCGM 2008 JCGM 200:2008 (E/F) ii JCGM 2008 All rights reserved/Tous droits r serv s Document produced by Working Group 2 of the Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM/WG 2).

2 Copyright of this document is shared jointly by the JCGM member organizations (BIPM, IEC, IFCC, ILAC, ISO, IUPAC, IUPAP and OIML). Document produit par le Groupe de travail 2 du Comit commun pour les guides en m trologie (JCGM/WG 2). Les droits d auteur relatifs ce document sont la propri t conjointe des organisations membres du JCGM (BIPM, CEI, IFCC, ILAC, ISO, UICPA, UIPPA et OIML). Copyrights Even if the electronic version of the 3rd edition of the VIM is available free of charge on the BIPM s website ( ), copyright of this document is shared jointly by the JCGM member organizations, and all respective logos and emblems are vested in them and are internationally protected.

3 Third parties cannot rewrite or re-brand, issue or sell copies to the public, broadcast or use on-line the 3rd edition of the VIM. For all commercial use, reproduction or translation of this document and/or of the logos, emblems, publications or other creations contained therein, the prior written permission of the Director of the BIPM must be obtained. Droits d auteur M me si une version lectronique de la 3e dition du VIM peut tre t l charg e gratuitement sur le site internet du BIPM ( ), les droits d auteur relatifs ce document sont la propri t conjointe des organisations membres du JCGM et l ensemble de leurs logos et embl mes respectifs leur appartien-nent et font l objet d une protection internationale.

4 Les tiers ne peuvent r crire ou modifier, distribuer ou vendre des copies au public, diffuser ou mettre en ligne, la 3e dition du VIM. Tout usage commercial, reproduction ou traduction de la 3e dition du VIM et/ou des logos, embl mes et/ou publications qu il comporte, doit recevoir l autorisation crite pr alable du directeur du BIPM. JCGM 200:2008 (E/F) JCGM 2008 All rights reserved/Tous droits r serv s iii Contents Page Foreword.

5 V Introduction .. vii Conventions .. xi Scope .. 1 1 Quantities and units .. 2 2 Measurement .. 16 3 Devices for measurement .. 34 4 Properties of measuring devices .. 37 5 Measurement standards (Etalons) .. 46 Annex A (informative) Concept diagrams .. 54 Bibliography .. 81 List of acronyms .. 85 Alphabetical index .. 87 JCGM 200:2008 (E/F) iv JCGM 2008 All rights reserved/Tous droits r serv s Sommaire Page Avant-propos.

6 Vi Introduction .. ix Conventions .. xiii Domaine d'application .. 1 1 Grandeurs et unit s .. 2 2 Mesurages .. 16 3 Dispositifs de mesure .. 34 4 Propri t s des dispositifs de mesure .. 37 5 talons .. 46 Annexe A (informative) Sch mas conceptuels .. 54 Bibliographie .. 81 Liste des sigles .. 85 Index alphab tique .. 89 JCGM 200:2008 (E/F) JCGM 2008 All rights reserved/Tous droits r serv s v Foreword In 1997 the Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM), chaired by the Director of the BIPM, was formed by the seven Organizations that had prepared the original versions of the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) and the International vocabulary of Basic and general Terms in Metrology (VIM).

7 The JCGM was originally made up of representatives from the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), and the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML). In 2005, the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) officially joined the seven founding organizations.

8 The JCGM has two Working Groups. Working Group 1 (JCGM/WG 1) on the GUM has the task of promoting the use of the GUM and preparing Supplements to the GUM for broad application. Working Group 2 (JCGM/WG 2) on the VIM has the task of revising the VIM and promoting its use. Working Group 2 is composed of up to two representatives of each member organization, supplemented by a limited number of experts. This 3rd edition of the VIM has been prepared by Working Group 2. In 2004, a first draft of this 3rd edition of the VIM was submitted for comments and proposals to the eight organizations represented in the JCGM, which in most cases consulted their members or affiliates, including numerous National Metrology Institutes.

9 Comments were studied and discussed, taken into account when appropriate, and replied to by JCGM/WG 2. A final draft of the 3rd edition was submitted in 2006 to the eight organizations for comment and approval. This 3rd edition has been approved and adopted by each of the eight JCGM member organizations. This 3rd edition cancels and replaces the 2nd edition 1993. This 3rd edition is published here under the terms of the JCGM Charter ( ). This 3rd edition is also published on paper by ISO (ISO/IEC Guide 99-12:2007, International vocabulary of Metrology Basic and general Concepts and Associated Terms, VIM; details are available at ).

10 JCGM 200:2008 (E/F) vi JCGM 2008 All rights reserved/Tous droits r serv s Avant-propos En 1997 le Comit commun pour les guides en m trologie (JCGM), pr sid par le directeur du BIPM, a t form par les sept organisations qui avaient pr par les versions originales du Guide pour l expression de l incertitude de mesure (GUM) et du Vocabulaire International des termes fondamentaux et g n raux en m trologie (VIM).