Current Status of Temperature Standards

Abstract

Temperature measurement is a common tool for scientific research and manufacturing products etc. However, the knowledge of temperature standards, i.e. how the unit of temperature is defined, how the temperature standards are actually realized and how they are disseminated, might not be widely recognized. In this article, we first summarize the current status of the temperature standards; from the definition of the base unit kelvin, to the temperature scale and the traceability of measurement. Then we refer to the evolution of the temperature standards, specifically the topics related to the redefinition of the unit kelvin.