Personnel: Researchers and Technologists: 18; Technicians: 13; Other technical and scientific personnel: 9; Graduate students and scholarships holders: 7; Administrative personnel: 0.5

The division deals with different subjects comprising: determination of physical constants, study of thermodynamic, acoustic and chemical properties of substances and materials, development of methodologies and devices for health and environmental applications. The activity is focused on the following research programs:

• Temperature and humidity standards
• Technologies for thermometry and hygrometry
• Physical acoustics
• Sound in air and ultrasound metrology
• Amount of substance

The graphs below provide a few data concerning personnel, their areas of activity, and related products in the year 2008.

In the second figure the whole range of deliverables is summarized. The most important results achieved in 2008 are as follows:

• the realization of triple point of neon cells with repeatability of 30 µK;
• the determination of the thermodynamic temperature of fixed-point cells of Co-C by means of the realization of three thermodynamic scales between Zn and Co-C and the construction of two new cells for the fixed point Pd-C;
• the development of a thermal control system with stability better than 0.5 mK for the DBT experiment carried out in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano and Università di Napoli and of a thermostat for DCGT experiment carried out at PTB (JRP- Boltzmann Constant);
• the setting up of two cells in Cu/AISI 316L for the measurement of the saturation vapour pressure of water;
• the realization of an integrating sphere with InGaAs detector for the measurement of normal-hemispheric reflectivity and measurements of normal spectral emissivity from 200 °C;
• the realization of optical fibre sensors and of a prototype of microwave hygrometer, for the measurement of temperature and composition respectively of humid binary mixtures, for PEM fuel cells (project WISE-CELL);
• the realization of a measurement set up for the characterization of sealed heat pipes;
• the characterization in size and in shape of a spherical resonator for the determination of k_B with a microwave method and with CMM measurements with uncertainty at ppm level (JRP-Boltzmann Constant);
• the development of a novel method for the calculation of the thermodynamic properties of liquids starting from acoustic measurements;
• a patent on a method to process and reduce the pollution of industrial waste by means of hydrodynamic cavitation;
• the sonochemical synthesis of nanostructured materials (oxides, quantum-dots) (fig. 1);

• the realization and the validation of a high-speed radiation force balance for the measurement of ultrasound powers higher than 100 W with absorbing targets (JRP- EBCT);
• the development of an in situ measurement method for water-borne sound in buildings and the estimate of acoustical insulation from vibration measurements in laboratory and in situ;
• the preparation of nitrogen monoxide mixtures in concentrations of some tenths of µmol/mol in a nitrogen matrix (fig. 2);

• the development of a spectrofluorimeter for the metrological characterization, at different temperatures, of the spectra of fluorescent materials;
• a set up for the dynamic generation of multi-component VOC gas mixtures in traces in the 1-100 ppb range in air;
• the study of the influence of trace elements on environment and human health by means of Neutron Activation Analysis and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy.

Development of control programmes to run cryocooler Multi-Cells, the revision of the frost point humidity standard generator, the realization of an apparatus to position microphones in free field for calibration by the method of reciprocity, stability and purity studies on gas primary mixtures via GC analysis.

International comparisons. In addition to participation in seven key and supplementary comparisons planned by CIPM consultative committees in the MRA framework, the division coordinated, or took part in, two CCQM pilot studies and six EURAMET comparisons.

CMCs. The division is involved in the maintenance and in the extension of its calibration and measurement capabilities recognized by MRA; 59 CMCs, related to the division, are published or are in the process of being published (29 for thermometry and hygrometry; 23 for acoustic and ultrasounds; 7 for the amount of substance). CMCs declared recently concern the measurement of acoustic power.

Calibration and testing, accreditation support. SI units are disseminated through the calibration and testing service provided to industrial laboratories, SIT laboratories and small and medium enterprises (SME). More than 370 certificates are issued per year. Accreditation support concerns about 60 accredited laboratories. In 2008 an interlaboratory comparison on relative humidity measurements, with 9 participants, was organised.

International cooperation. Participation in CCAUV, CCT and CCQM meetings and associated working groups, EURAMET (TC-AUV, TC-T and TC-MC) meetings; the participation in standardisation bodies such as ISO, IEC, CEN and CENELEC, should be reported. The collaborations with universities and European and international research institutes are active. The division takes part in 28 EURAMET projects in the thermometry, acoustic and amount of substance fields. Research contracts with other NMIs and international organizations and the training of personnel of other European NMIs are performed.

Several research projects at European, national or regional level started in 2008, some others continued from previous years:

• JRP-Boltzmann Constant, for the determination of the gas and the Boltzmann constants with relative uncertainty below 10^-6;
• JRP-EBCT, to improve efficiency and safety of anti-tumoural therapies based on radiation, in particular on high intensity focused ultrasound beams;
• JRP-TRACEBIOACTIVITY, for the development and validation of new measurement methods in biology and clinical chemistry;
• JRP-RegenMed, for the development of metrology at the cell scale for regenerative and reparative medicine;
• Regional Project WISE-CELL, for the development of microwave and optical fibre sensors for in situ characterization of PEM fuel cells;
• Regional Project METREGEN, for the realization of a metrology laboratory for reparative and regenerative biomedicine;
• Regional Project CRUM, for the development of a reference centre for ultrasounds in medicine.

At international level 3 research contracts with NMIs and organizations of other countries for the development of precision instrumentation are worth mentioning.

National cooperation. Several collaboration agreements with universities and private and public research centres. Research contracts with SMEs and larger enterprises; technical and scientific support to government and public administration; studies and collaboration in the field of cultural heritage; participation in the activities of UNI and CEI standardisation bodies. At national level, collaboration with ISPRA (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale), former APAT, and ISS for the metrological traceability of environmental and biomedical measurements.