Take a look inside the metrology lab, where everything is measured

The most accurate timepiece in the UAE, against which all clocks in the UAE are measured, located in the laboratory of the UAE Metrology Institute. Abu Dhabi.

It will continue to accurately record time for over 300,000 years. There are three servers for backup in the event of a power outage.

Its accuracy is more than 1,000 nanoseconds — “0.1 picogram,” explains Waleed Al Kalbani, head of the Electrical, Time and Frequency Laboratory.

A break of less than a second can be like an airplane, a car radar, or even a UAE Space Agency Set the time according to this clock.

Below the display showing UAE time, another clock is ticking.

This is the “universal time” on which the entire world depends, explains Mr. Al Kalbani.

Formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time or GMT. This is the time zone that all others are based on. Greenwich is located in southeast London, and the United Kingdom uses GMT throughout the winter and GMT+1 in the summer, also known as BST, or British Summer Time.

“In 300,000 years, there may be less than a second of drift or error, but this can be adjusted,” said Mr Al Kalbani. “This timer will continue to tick… long before my great-great-great-grandchildren and I leave.”

However, officials at EMI automatically check the accuracy of UAE time every month by comparing it to UTC, which stands for Coordinated Universal Time. Essentially, this is the less British-centric successor to the GMT, also known as “Zulu” in military parlance.

Adjust the time

Adjustments are rare, but not unknown. The world’s highest authority, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), meets in Paris to make decisions on adjustments, such as during leap years.

BIPM is an intergovernmental organization through which its 59 member countries jointly develop measurement standards in four areas: chemistry, ionizing radiation, physical metrology, and Coordinated Universal Time.

27 leap seconds have been added since 1972. Leap seconds were added on June 30, 2015 and June 30, 2012.

measure

One might argue that the clock is the least interesting feature in Masdar City EMI.

Metrology is the science of measurement, and at EMI, every imaginable product is measured.

These can be solid or liquid, or even air.

For example, quality manager Mohamed Al Mulla says: “At the Golden Souq we calibrate the weights used to verify the scales. At the petrol station we calibrate the graduated cylinders used to verify the gas nozzles and the measuring cylinders used to measure the amount of water pumped into your car. How much gas and price the machine. The same applies to utilities [such as water and gas]. “

In supermarkets, inspectors calibrate weighing machines used to measure fruits and vegetables.

Even a torque wrench as small as a torque wrench used in an automotive workshop can be measured in force, torque and pressure labs.

“We calibrate and measure the meters and weighing machines that measure products, so we are basically the measurers of the measurements,” said senior metrology scientist Khaled Al Mazrouei.

Measurement weights for EMI start at 1mg and go up to 1000kg.

The weight is handled with gloves, as even fingertip oil can add to the total weight of the object.

“Body temperature can even affect body weight, which is why we wear gloves or use tools such as tweezers,” said Mr Al Mazrouei.

The EMI laboratory consists of the following five departments; Mass Volume and Flow, Dimensions, Temperature and Humidity, Force Torque and Pressure, and Electric Time Frequency and Power

Each plays a key role in the UAE, including the temperature and humidity laboratory, which measures vital environments such as newborn incubators and hospitals.

Before EMI was established in 2009, most of the products needed to be sent abroad for testing.

The Metrology Institute now provides services to private industry and contracts with government stakeholders such as the Ministry of Defence and the Abu Dhabi Judiciary.

“For any country and market to develop, there must be standards and norms to keep the public and consumers safe. That is our role,” said Saeed Almheiri, Executive Director of EMI.

Updated: August 13, 2022 3:00am