XN000022-1982-05-16 — Page 2

SUNDAY, MAY 16, 1982

STANDARDS AND CALIBRATION LABORATORY OPENS NEXT YEAR

******

YOU MAY NOT KNOW IT. BUT YOU MAY HAVE FLOWN WITH AN ATOMIC CLOCK ON THE ADJACENT PASSENGER SEAT.

IT WILL HAVE BEEN IN A BOX, WATCHED OVER BY AN EXECUTIVE-TYPE WITH DISTINCTLY MATERNAL ZEAL, AND ANY SUDDEN LURCHES AND BUMPY LANDINGS WILL HAVE RAISED HIS HEART BEAT AND BLOOD PRESSURE - FOR IT CAN MEASURE TIME WITH AN ACCURACY EQUIVALENT TO ONE SECOND IN OVER 4 000 YEARS AND IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE SYNCHRONISATION OF WORLD TIME TO WITHIN ONE MILLIONTH OF A SECOND.

THE CLOCK IS ONE OF A NUMBER OF PRECISION INSTRUMENTS CIRCLING THE WORLD WHICH ARE BEING USED TO HELP MAINTAIN INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS OF MEASUREMENTS - AND WHICH ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY VITAL TO HONG KONG'S INDUSTRIES.

THE INSTRUMENTS ARE USED BY THE STANDARDS AND TESTING LABORATOR IES OF MANY COUNTRIES TO CHECK THE IR OWN TEST INSTRUMENTS WHICH ARE IN TURN USED BY THEIR INDUSTRIES TO COUNTER-CHECK TESTING EQUIPMENT USED BY COMPANIES.

ALTERNATIVELY, COUNTRIES SEND THEIR TESTING EQUIPMENT TO PLACES LIKE THE UK NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY, THE US NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, AND THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL MEASUREMENTS LABORATORY FOR CHECKING.

WHY IS IT ALL NECESSARY? TAKE THE CASE OF AN INTRICATE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, WHICH MAY CONSIST OF NUMEROUS PARTS MADE AT FACTORIES GREAT DISTANCES - OFTEN COUNTRIES-APART. TO WORK PROPERLY ALL THE COMPONENTS MUST BE MADE TO CLOSE TOLERANCES OF EACH OTHER. IF BOTH THE MANUFACTURER AND THE CUSTOMER ARE TO BE CONFIDENT THAT THEIR SPECIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN MET, THEY MUST RELY ON TEST INSTRUMENTS WHICH HAVE BEEN REGULARLY CALIBRATED AGAINST OTHERS WHICH HAVE A HIGHER DEGREE OF ACCURACY,

THIS PROCESS OF ALIGNMENT WITH THE UNCOMPROMISING LEVELS OF THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS LADDER GIVES AN INSTRUMENT - AND ANY OTHERS CALIBRATED AGAINST IT - A DISTINCTION KNOWN AS TRACEABILITY.

BUT THIS PROCESS IS COSTLY, TIME-CONSUMING AND INCONVENIENT FOR THOSE, NOTABLY IN INDUSTRY, WHO RELY ON THE OPTIMUM STATE OF THEIR TESTING EQUIPMENT TO MAINTAIN HIGH STANDARDS OF QUALITY CONTROL. THE INTEGRITY OF ANY PIECE OF MEASURING EQUIPMENT MAY BE DIMINISHED IF IT IS NOT REGULARLY CHECKED AGAINST AN INTERNATIONALLY- RECOGNISED +MASTER+ - IN SOME CASES TWO OR THREE TIMES A YEAR.

INTERNATIONAL MEASUREMENT STANDARDS FALL INTO THREE BASIC CATEGORIES: TERTIARY, SECONDARY, AND THE MOST PRECISE OF ALL, THE PRIMARY STANDARDS HELD BY ONLY A HANDFUL OF NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE WORLD, AND HAVING ACCURACIES OF A FEW PARTS PER MILLION, OR BETTER.

UNTIL NOW THE NEEDS OF HONG KONG'S INDUSTRIES HAVE NOT REQUIRED OUR TEST INSTRUMENTS TO BE CALIBRATED AGAINST THE HEADY LEVELS OF PRIMARY STANDARDS.

BUT HONG