Back Meterkonvensie Afrikaans اتفاقية المتر Arabic Метрычная канвенцыя Byelorussian Мэтрычная канвэнцыя BE-X-OLD Конвенция за метъра Bulgarian Kenemglev ar metr Breton Convenció del Metre Catalan Metrická konvence Czech Meterkonventionen Danish Meterkonvention German
The Metre Convention is the treaty that set up the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM). The BIPM is an inter-governmental organization that is responsible for harmonizing systems of measurement across the world. The treaty was first made in 1875 between 17 countries.
The member countries agreed to share the costs of running a laboratory on neutral territory. The international prototype metre and the international prototype kilogram would be kept at the laboratory. Member state's national prototype metres and kilograms would be compared with the international prototypes at regular intervals. Member states would have regular meetings to discuss developments in measurement technology.
In 1921 the treaty was extended to cover electrical and all other physical measurements. This enabled the BIPM to published the standards for the International System of Units (SI). Under SI, units of measurements that are used in science and engineering were defined in a logical manner. The rules for SI also standardized the way in which physical quantities are written.
In 2014 the BIPM had 55 member countries.