Talking about very basic thing: People say the Fluke DMMs are very accurate for measurement. I used few cheap DMMs and and they show different voltages for same supply like 5.01V, 4.98V, 4.99V etc.
Maybe the exact reference of time is the rotation of earth. Same way what is the exact reference of voltage (etc) measurement so people say the fluke or etc expensive tools are very accurate?
Ultimately, in the US, voltage references are traced back to the National Institute of Standards and Technology lab where I believe they use a Josephson junction primary voltage reference.
It's a little pricey for home use.
Ultimately, in the US, voltage references are traced back to the National Institute of Standards and Technology lab where I believe they use a Josephson junction primary voltage reference.
It's a little pricey for home use.
A primary standard is different from other references because its absolute value is determined by the nature of its physics with more accuracy and less variation than anything else we know of. When in the correct environment, it makes a voltage that just plain does not vary because of the quantum mechanics of the Josephson effect.
According to this, the Josephson junctionhas been developed as the US primary standard for the volt.
It apparently defines the volt as determined by an accurate frequency and two constants of nature.
Of course this depends upon the accuracy of the frequency, derived from the second, which is the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation corresponding to the transition between two energy levels of the caesium-133 atom.
I think perhaps that's as primary as it gets.
The time is primary. The volt is derived. That does not mean you cannot measure it accurately. My comment was simply related to the comments regarding a primary standard.
"Primary" standards have been defined by international consensus.
Common accurate voltage references are the semiconductor ones such as the TL431 precision reference. Those can be used as a calibrate check for your multimeter for one voltage.
Some are available with 0.1% accuracy.
Voltage regulators such as the 7805 or the LM317 are not as accurate or stable.