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Conference Paper: From microscopic to macroscopic: the curious case of the mole

TitleFrom microscopic to macroscopic: the curious case of the mole
Authors
Issue Date2016
Citation
The 2016 Workshop on Problems of Scale, The University of Wollongong, NSW., Australia, 10-11 March 2016. How to Cite?
AbstractIn this paper I take a close look at the SI base quantity “amount of substance”, and its unit, the mole. The mole was introduced as a base unit in the International System of Units (SI) in 1971, and there is currently a proposal to change its definition. I argue, first, that the current definition of the mole creates a certain ambiguity regarding the ontological status of “amount of substance”: is it a continuous quantity, like mass and length, or is it instead an enumerable aggregate? I then evaluate some of the criticisms this ambiguity has prompted. Finally I look at how the new proposal affects the ontological status of “amount of substance”. I conclude that while the new definition avoids the ambiguities of the older one, the mole still stands out among the base units of the SI.
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/230590

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorWolff, JE-
dc.date.accessioned2016-08-23T14:17:56Z-
dc.date.available2016-08-23T14:17:56Z-
dc.date.issued2016-
dc.identifier.citationThe 2016 Workshop on Problems of Scale, The University of Wollongong, NSW., Australia, 10-11 March 2016.-
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/230590-
dc.description.abstractIn this paper I take a close look at the SI base quantity “amount of substance”, and its unit, the mole. The mole was introduced as a base unit in the International System of Units (SI) in 1971, and there is currently a proposal to change its definition. I argue, first, that the current definition of the mole creates a certain ambiguity regarding the ontological status of “amount of substance”: is it a continuous quantity, like mass and length, or is it instead an enumerable aggregate? I then evaluate some of the criticisms this ambiguity has prompted. Finally I look at how the new proposal affects the ontological status of “amount of substance”. I conclude that while the new definition avoids the ambiguities of the older one, the mole still stands out among the base units of the SI.-
dc.languageeng-
dc.relation.ispartofWorkshop on Problems of Scale-
dc.titleFrom microscopic to macroscopic: the curious case of the mole-
dc.typeConference_Paper-
dc.identifier.emailWolff, JE: jwolff@hku.hk-
dc.identifier.authorityWolff, JE=rp01643-
dc.identifier.hkuros262160-

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