Accurate measurements of current, voltage, power and resistance ensure that electrical systems operate optimally, that electricity bills are correct, and that electrical components meet safety standards.
The National Laboratory provides metrological services and calibration in the areas of resistance, direct and alternating voltage, direct and alternating current, power and energy. The Norwegian Metrology Service can measure electrical voltage with extremely high accuracy, traceable to the SI system. In our laboratories we carry out, among other things, the unit of electrical resistance, the ohm, using the quantised Hall effect, and the unit of electrical direct voltage, the volt, using the quantum phenomenon known as the Josephson effect.
In many areas of measurement, signals are converted into electrical signals. The ability to interpret these correctly therefore provides valuable contributions to understanding measurements and to the development of new technology. The Norwegian Metrology Service contributes to technological development through several research projects.
The Norwgian Metrology Service leads the QuantumPower project, which develops direct traceability to the SI system for power measurements through quantised alternating voltage.
Through the Public PhD programme, as well as the Q-Wave and QuADC projects, we have, in cooperation with European colleagues, developed optical control of Josephson junctions at cryogenic temperatures (4 K). This is used to generate quantised voltage waveforms with frequencies in the range 20 Hz–100 kHz. The doctoral thesis can be downloaded here.
A crucial component in current measurement is a shunt – a measuring resistor used to produce a readable voltage. The requirement for a high-quality measuring resistor is that the voltage measured across it must provide an accurate snapshot of the total current being measured.
The Norwegian Metrology Service has developed world-class measuring resistors for alternating current measurement for use in metrology, and these units have been sold to national laboratories on several continents. The high precision level has been achieved through simulation and prototype development at the Norwegian Metrology Service.
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