{"id":2762,"date":"2024-05-18T14:18:51","date_gmt":"2024-05-18T14:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=2762"},"modified":"2024-05-18T14:18:51","modified_gmt":"2024-05-18T14:18:51","slug":"breakthrough-or-boast-the-quest-for-comparable-research-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2762\/breakthrough-or-boast-the-quest-for-comparable-research-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Breakthrough or boast? The quest for comparable research results"},"content":{"rendered":"

More international attention is being paid to the importance of common standards for performing scientific experiments and measuring their results \u2013 a field called metrology.<\/p>\n

By<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0Tom Cassauwers<\/p>\n

In late 2019, physicist Dr Lorenzo Pattelli was part of an Italian-Chinese scientific team working on a cooling technology that is fast gaining attention as the Earth gets hotter from climate change.<\/p>\n

Called passive daytime radiative cooling, or PDRC, the technology uses engineered materials to reflect away the sun\u2019s radiation. The idea is that, amid heat waves, PDRC panels would cool buildings without the need for energy-intensive air conditioning.<\/p>\n

Desert surprise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right before Pattelli\u2019s team was ready to publish the results of its study into the cooling effects of a particular material, another research group released a paper on a very similar material that exhibited double the cooling effect.<\/p>\n

\u2018At first, we were a bit disappointed as it looked like we were beaten to the punch,\u2019 Pattelli said. \u2018But these things happen in science.\u2019<\/p>\n

Welcome to the world of metrology \u2013 the scientific field that studies measurements. When gauging the performance of new technologies, scientists need to use common standards so that results are comparable.<\/p>\n

Initially, the Italian-Chinese team of researchers couldn\u2019t explain the discrepancy between the findings about the cooling effect of the materials. How could the two experiments produce such different results?<\/p>\n

The answer from the other group was found in its paper\u2019s supporting information, which said that the testing was done in the Atacama desert in Chile.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Atacama plateau is located at high altitude with lower atmospheric pressure and very low humidity,\u2019 he said. \u2018We, on the other hand, tested our material in downtown Beijing. Neither study was wrong, but the other group tested its material in much more favourable conditions.\u2019<\/p>\n

Trust test<\/strong><\/p>\n

This highlights why metrology is so important. Without it, research results can vary dramatically and, as a result, public trust in science can be eroded.<\/p>\n

International institutions are beginning to pay more attention to metrology. UNESCO for the first time will celebrate\u00a0World Metrology Day<\/a> on 20 May 2024 and, through the\u00a0European Partnership on Metrology<\/a>, the EU and its Member States are investing in the field.<\/p>\n

A researcher at the National Metrology Institute of Italy, Pattelli now leads a project that received partnership funding to determine the best measurement standards for PDRC materials. Called\u00a0PaRaMetriC<\/a>,\u00a0the project began in 2022 and runs until 2025.<\/p>\n

Excitement around PDRC has prompted scientific teams around the world to hunt for the greatest possible cooling effects for particular materials, resulting in some doubtful results, according to Pattelli.<\/p>\n

\u2018Some of the claims we\u2019re seeing in more recent papers are clearly biased,\u2019 he said. \u2018Metrology is very much needed here to establish good practice guidelines.\u2019<\/p>\n

New benchmarks<\/strong><\/p>\n

PaRaMetriC is setting standards and measurement protocols for PDRC research.<\/p>\n

The project is seeking, among other things, to measure cooling through water instead of air temperature.<\/p>\n

The researchers have built a device to gauge the flux and temperature of water that goes in and out as it is being cooled by the material. The water touches the material here and is cooled by it, enabling better measurements of how much cooling takes place.<\/p>\n

\u2018Measuring temperature in air is subject to high uncertainty, especially considering that the PDRC effect occurs outdoors,\u2019 Pattelli said. \u2018Measuring the temperature of liquids is a lot more reliable.\u2019<\/p>\n

He said that, while ambient temperature will still necessarily be measured in air, using liquids offers a more robust measurement of the actual cooling power provided by the different materials.<\/p>\n

PaRaMetriC plans to set benchmark measurements on a set of PDRC materials. These benchmarks can then be used by other projects as a common baseline to evaluate the cooling performances of newly proposed materials \u2013 similar to how members of an orchestra tune their instruments together so they all sound in line with one another.<\/p>\n

Methane measurements<\/strong><\/p>\n

Metrology is useful not only to assess claims about new technologies, but also to spot the advance of climate change.<\/p>\n

Another project funded by the European Partnership on Metrology is seeking to improve measurements in the atmosphere of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Called\u00a0isoMET<\/a>, the project also runs from 2022 until 2025.<\/p>\n

One method of determining the origin of methane in the atmosphere is called isotope ratio measurement. This can be done in several ways.<\/p>\n

In one \u2013 laser absorption spectroscopy \u2013 a reservoir is filled with air, after which laser light passes through it and measures the concentration and isotope ratio in the sample. This allows researchers to assess methane concentrations in a specific place \u2013 and even where it came from.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s like the fingerprint of the methane,\u2019 said Dr Javis Nwaboh, research scientist at the National Metrology Institute of Germany and part of isoMET. \u2018We can determine the source of it, for example agriculture or the burning of fossil fuel.\u2019<\/p>\n

Here again, however, a lack of common measurement standards or procedures prevails.<\/p>\n

\u2018Measurements aren\u2019t harmonised between different laboratories,\u2019 said Nwaboh. \u2018So you might get different results between different studies. This makes it more difficult to tackle climate change.\u2019<\/p>\n

The isoMET researchers aim to establish one set of standards that can be used internationally so results become comparable.<\/p>\n

Come together<\/strong><\/p>\n

After they come to an end in 2025, both isoMET and PaRaMetriC will try to get the scientific community as a whole to adopt their standards. The projects will do this by presenting their results to scientists and showing them why existing measurement standards may be inadequate.<\/p>\n

For Nwaboh and Pattelli, such steps are essential to underpin trust in science and counter the possibility that scientists under pressure to publish interesting results will present their research as more spectacular than it actually is.<\/p>\n

\u2018PRDC is a very promising field of research,\u2019 said Pattelli. \u2018It would be a shame if this technology gets hindered by papers whose results are difficult to compare. We have a better chance to advance science if everyone follows reproducible practices.\u2019<\/p>\n

Nwaboh echoed the point.<\/p>\n

\u2018Trust in research is limited if everyone measures things in their own way,\u2019 he said. \u2018The right procedures can alleviate that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Research in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. <\/em><\/p>\n

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