Paper detail

Determination of the Boltzmann Constant Using the Differential - Cylindrical Procedure

We report in this paper the progresses on the determination of the Boltzmann constant using the acoustic gas thermometer (AGT) of fixed-length cylindrical cavities. First, we present the comparison of the molar masses of pure argon gases through comparing speeds of sound of gases. The procedure is independent from the methodology by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The experimental results show good agreement between both methods. The comparison offers an independent inspection of the analytical results by GC-MS. Second, we present the principle of the novel differential-cylindrical procedure based on the AGT of two fixed-length cavities. The deletion mechanism for some major perturbations is analyzed for the new procedure. The experimental results of the differential-cylindrical procedure demonstrate some major improvements on the first, second acoustic and third virial coefficients, and the excess half-widths. The three acoustic virial coefficients agree well with the stated-of-the-art experimental and theoretical (the ab initio calculation) results. The new method is characterized by much less correction-dependence. The differential-cylindrical procedure results in the preliminary determination of the Boltzmann constant of 1.380 650 6*10^-23 with the relative standard uncertainty of 2.3*10^-6. The new value is in 1.3*10^-6 above the adjusted Boltzmann constant given in CODATA 2010. The resultant gas constant R =8.314 473 J/mol/K with the same the relative standard uncertainty.