On Thursday 5 December 2024, the Department of Physics organised a visit for 2nd Year Advanced Level Physics students to the Standards and Metrology Laboratories in Kordin. The students were accompanied by Mr Kevin Mizzi, and were greeted by Dr Nicola Testa, Director of the Laboratories, and Mr Duncan Camilleri.
These labs are equipped to measure quantities like mass, length, volume, temperature, electric current, voltage, time, and pressure with high accuracy. Dr Testa and Mr Camilleri (an alumnus of the JC Department of Physics) explained in detail the apparatus and procedures used to ensure reliable measurements and instrument calibration.
The Laboratories' personnel work closely with similar labs across the EU, carrying out standardisation activities at corporate, national, and international levels. This includes making and publishing standards related to categories, types of products, and services. The legal metrology function provides consumers with assurances of reliable and consistent measurements, whether fuelling a car at a petrol station or weighing food at a supermarket.
This visit helped Physics students make informed decisions about their future professions and better understand sections of the MATSEC syllabus, such as physical quantities, units, and thermometry.