Measures of Holding Capacity

(of the volume of liquids and gases), measures that are used to reproduce volumes of some given value; these measures are glass or metal vessels of various forms, marked off with a single mark (for single-valued measures) or with a series of marks (for multivalued measures); the marks are used to determine the volumes. Measures of holding capacity are graduated in cubic meters, in liters (1 liter = 1 cubic decimeter), and in fractions of these units. Measures of holding capacity include measuring tanks of various kinds, containers, measuring cups and flasks, measuring cylinders, graduated cylinders, measuring glasses, pipettes, burettes, measuring pails, butyrometers, and barrels of hypodermic syringes.

According to their metrological purpose, measures of holding capacity are classified as base standards and working standards. Base standards for liquids and gases—measuring tanks, flasks, pipettes, and burettes—are calibrated, depending on their volume, either by using length measures, that is, by the geometric dimensions, or by using standard weights (the weight method). The calibration error is from 0.015 to 0.5 percent. Working standards of holding capacity cover a wide range of volumes (from 0.5 milliliter to 10,000 cu m). Working standards in the form of flasks and burettes are divided into first and second classes of precision, corresponding to relative errors from 0.025 percent to 5 percent.