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Time interval (frequency) is the quantity
that can be determined with the highest accuracy. It can be measured with an accuracy greater
than 1 part in 1013. With
the help of satellites, it is possible to compare the time scales kept by the
national laboratories, worldwide, to an accuracy of ~1 ns. Time, therefore, plays a central role in
metrology and in the definitions of SI units.
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The SI consists of seven base units and a
number of derived units, as shown above.
Shown on the next page are the units that do NOT depend on the unit of
time.
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R. J. Douglas, et.
al, "Frequency Standards, Timekeeping, and Traceable Services at the
National Research Council of Canada," Proc. 28th Ann. Precise Time &
Time Interval (PTTI) Applications & Planning Meeting, pp. 65-80, 1996.
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The chart above, and
the one on the next page, were provided by R.J. Douglas, National Research
Council Canada, 1997.
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E. R. Cohen & B.
N. Taylor, The Fundamental Physical Constants, Physics Today, pp. BG7-BG14,
August 1997.
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B. W. Petley,
"Time and Frequency Fundamental Metrology," Proceedings of the
IEEE, vol. 79, pp. 1070-1076, 1991.
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