Below is my previously-private e-mail to Jim concerning FRN-1998. I agree with Jim that SP 330 (2001) in *now* a preferable citation for the latest updates of SI rather than the older FRN-1998 which we used when we were helping to write AWS A1.1 in 2000 before the 2001 Edition of SP 330 became available.
Nevertheless, a statement on "interpretation" remains in the 2001 Edition: "... this edition of NIST SP 330 conforms with the English text in the BIPM SI Brochure but contains a few minor differences to reflect the most recent interpretation of the SI for the United States by the Secretary of Commerce, as published in the Federal Register of July 28, 1998, 63 FR 40334-40340." ... Although I plan to cite 330 more frequently that the FRN in the future, I reserve the right to cite FRN-1998 for particular purposes. e.g. when discussing the authority for "interpretation" of the SI for the United States as opposed to the more intrinsic details of SI. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 17:59:07 -0600 (CST) From: Gene Mechtly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: James Frysinger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: FRN-1998 & SP 330-2001 On Sun, 10 Mar 2002, James Frysinger wrote: > ... The only legal value that FRN's provide is to demonstrate > "publication" of a document or of information... Jim, The very first sentence of the FR Notice of 1998 is: "This notice restates the interpretation of the International System of Units (SI) for the Unites States by the Department of Commerce." That statement and the contents of the FRN that follow, express the authority of the US Congress and the DoC, even if no legal penalties are immediately included. Furthermore, the Foreword of SP 330-2001 cites the FR Notice of 1998 as "... the most recent interpretation of the SI for the United States by the Secretary of Commerce." There is no escaping the fact that the FRN of 1998 gives the latest interpretation of SI for the US. Barry Taylor, by e-mail at the time he was writing the 2001 Edition of SP 330, advised me to cite the FRN of 1998 as the most official authority on interpretation of SI for the US, at that time, and I'm confident that the FRN remains the official US Interpretation of SI at the present time. We are concerned here with information and standard practices; not with the prosecution of illegal acts. The FRN-98 should be cited in SI 10, just as it is cited in AWS 1.1. Gene.
