Table I.
Basic Units
defined by Confrence Gnrale des Poids et Mesures (CGPM) in the latest
SI-brochure of 1998.
Quantity
Unit
Length
meter
Mass
kilogram
kg
Time
second
Electric current
ampere
Temperature
kelvin
Quantity of substance mole
Luminosity
candle
Symbol Definition
mol
cd
1983, 17th CGPM: The path travelled by
light in vacuum during a time interval of
1/299792458 seconds. This fixes the speed
of light to exactly 299792458 m/s.
1901, 3rd CGPM: Mass of the platinumiridium prototype at BIPM in Sevres.
1968, 13th CGPM: One second equals
9192631770 periods of the radiation due
to the transition between the two hyperfine
levels of the ground state of Cesium 133.
1948, 9th CGPM: Given two parallel,
rectilinear conductors of negligible
circular cross-section positioned 1 m apart
in vacuum, one ampere is the electric
current which, passing through both of
them, makes them attract each other by the
force of 2.10-7 newtons per every meter of
length. This fixes the permeability of
vacuum to exactly 2*10-7 H/m.
1968, 13th CGPM: One degree K equals
1/273.16 of the thermodynamic
temperature of the triple point of water.
1971, 14th CGPM: The amount of a
substance composed of as many specified
elementary units (molecules, atoms) as
there are atoms in 0.012 kg of Carbon 12.
1979, 16th CGPM: The candle (or
candela) is the luminous intensity, in a
given direction, of a source that emits
monochromatic radiation of frequency
540.1012 hertz and that has a radiant
intensity in that direction of 1/683 W/sr.
Table II. Derived units with assigned names
defined by BIPM in the latest SI-brochure (1998) and its supplement (2000).
Unit
Symbol Equals
Definition / Note
Space and time:
Plane angle
radian
rad
The plane angle which, when centered in a circle, cuts off an arc
whose length is equal to the circle radius.
Solid angle
steradian
sr
The solid angle which, when centered in a sphere, cuts off a cap
whose surface equals that of a square having the radius as side.
Frequency
hertz
Hz
1 s-1
Force
newton
1 kg.m.s-2 [mass].[acceleration].
Pressure
pascal
Pa
1 N.m-2
[force]/[area]. Also: stress.
Energy
joule
1 N.m
[force].[length]. Also: Work, Heat
Power
watt
1 J.s-1
[energy]/[time]. Also: Radiant flux
celsius
1K
T [oC] = T [K] -273.15 (the offset is exact!).
coulomb
1 A.s
[number of events or cycles]/[time].
Mechanics:
Thermodynamics:
Temperature
Electromagnetism:
Charge
[current].[time].
-1
Potential
volt
1 W.A
Resistance
ohm
1 V.A-1
[potential]/[current].
-1
[current]/[potential].
Conductance
siemens
1 A.V
Capacitance
farad
1 C.V-1
Inductance
Magnetic flux
henry
weber
Wb
Magnetic flux density tesla
1 V.s.A
[power]/[current]. Only differences are measurable!
[charge]/[potential].
-1
-1
1 J.A
[potential]/[rate of change of current].
[energy]/[current].
-2
1 Wb.m
[magnetic flux]/[area]. Also magnetic induction.
lm
1 cd.sr
[luminosity].[solid angle].
Optics:
Luminous flux
Illuminance
Convergence
lumen
lux
lx
dioptry
-2
1 lm.m
dioptry 1 m
-1
[luminous flux]/[area].
Inverse of focal length.
Radioactivity and radiation:
Activity
becquerel
Bq
1 s-1
[number of decay events]/[time].
-1
Absorbed dose
gray
Gy
1 J.kg
[energy]/[mass].
Dose equivalent
sievert
Sv
1 J.kg-1
[energy]/[mass]. Absorbed dose re-normalized by biological effects.
katal
kat
1 mol.s-1
[quantity of substance]/[time].
Chemistry:
Katalytic activity
Table III a. SI Units prefixes
with examples of correct usage.
Prefix Symbol Factor
Yotta
Y
1024
Zetta
Z
1021
Exa
E
1018
Peta
P
1015
Tera
T
1012
Giga
G
109
Mega
M
106
Kilo
K, k 103
hecto
h
100
deca
da
10
deci
d
0.1
Examples of usage
0.2 YW, 1.23Y [W]
3.33 Zs, 3.33Z [s]
1.23 Ekg, 1.23E [kg]
7.5 Ps, 7.5P [s]
0.5 Tm, 0.5T [m]
1.2 G, 1.2G []
7 MW, 7M [W]
33 km, 33K [m]
Deprecated by SI
Deprecated by SI
Deprecated by SI
centi
0.01
Deprecated by SI
milli
m, k
10-3
22 mm , 1.2m [m]
micro
nano
pico
, u
n
p
10-6
10-9
10-12
2.7 uJ , 2.7 [J]
2.2 nF, 2.2n [F]
1.5 pA, 1.5p [A]
femto
10-15
4.8 fs, 4.8f [s]
atto
10-18
1.2 ag, 1.2a [g]
zepto
yocto
z
y
10-21
10-24
0.2 zm, 1.2z [m]
1 ys, 1y [s]
Origin
Greek 'octo' (eight, 10008)
French 'sept' (seven, 10007)
Greek 'six' (10006)
Greek 'five' (10005)
Greek 'teras' = monster
Greek 'gigas' = giant
Greek 'megas' = large
Greek 'kilioi' = thousand
Greek 'hekaton' = hundred
Greek 'deka' = ten
Latin 'decima pars' = one
tenth
Latin 'centesima pars' = one
hundredth
Latin 'millesima pars' = one
thousandth
Greek 'mikros' = small
Latin 'nanus' = dwarf
Spanish 'pico' = minimal
measure
Danish and Norvegian
'femten' = fifteen (10-15)
Danish and Norvegian 'atten'
= eighteen (10-18)
French 'sept' (seven, 1000-7)
Greek 'octo' (eight, 1000-8)
Table III b. Binary prefixes for Bytes
which are not a part of SI but which are in common use in informatics [see the note].
Prefix Symbol Factor Value
Examples
Kilo
KB
210
1024
12345 KB = 12 641 280 bytes
Mega
MB
220
1 048 576
420 MB fits in my PC's dynamic RAM
Giga
GB
1 073 741 824
16 GB flash-memory pen drive costs $20
Tera
TB
1 099 511 627 776
3.9 TB hard disks are a reality
Peta
PB
250
1 125 899 906 842 624
13.5 PB is the CIA total memory capacity
Exa
EB
1 152 921 504 606 846 976
1 EB is still a bit out of reach (AD 2010)
Zetta
ZB
270
1 180 591 620 717 411 303 424
How many ZB to hard-copy a human being ???
Yotta
YB
1 208 925 819 614 629 174 706 176
1 YYB is still nothing compared with the Universe
30
40
60
80
Table IV. Accepted non-SI units
compiled according to the US Federal Register (ref.4).
Unit
of
Symbol Equals
Degree of arc
plane angle
(/180) rad
Minute of arc
plane angle
'
(1/60) o
Second of arc
plane angle
"
(1/60)'
Minute
time
min
Hour
time
60 min
Day
time
24 h
Liter
volume
Gram
Definition / Note
60 s
Notice that the duration of a day is not linked to Earth motion!
L, l
0.001 m
Often used sub-units are deciliter (dl) and centiliter.(cl).
mass
0.001 kg
A tolerated anomaly: the basic unit of mass (kg) has a prefix.
Ton
mass
1000 kg
More precise term: metric ton.
Bit
information
The smallest, dimensionless quantum of information
Baud rate
info flux
Neper
ratio
Np
Bel
ratio
bit
Baud
1 bit.s
-1
[amount of information]/[time]
log(A/B)
Measure of a ratio A/B. The logarithms are in base 10.
0.5 Np
Mostly used as decibel (dB): 1 dB = (1/20) Np.
Table V. Accepted non-SI units with experimental values.
For the most recent values of these constantly improving units, see Constants of Physics.
Unit
of
Electronvolt
energy
Astronomical unit length
Atomic mass unit
mass
Symbol Equals
eV
1.60217733(49).10-19 J
Note
Energy to move an electron across a potential difference
of 1 V.
au, AU, ua 1.49597870(30).10+11 m Mean Earth-to-Sun distance. Also denoted as ua.
u
1.6605402(10).10-27 kg
1/12 of the rest mass of an unbound 12C atom in ground
state.
Table VI. Units deprecated by the SI
which are still in current use in most countries.
Unit
Nautical mile
Knot
Are
Hectar
Bar
of
length
velocity
area
area
pressure
Calory
energy
cal
4.1868 J
ngstrm
length
10-10 m
Barn
area
10-28 m2
Radioactivity and radiation:
Curie
Radioactivity
3.7*10+10 Bq
Rntgen
Radiation
dose
0.000258 Ci.kg-1
Rad
Radiation
dose
Equivalent
dose
rad
0.01 Gy
rem
0.01 Sv
Rem
Symbol
mile
knot
are
ha
bar
Equals
1852 m
1 mile.h-1
100 m2
100 are
100000 Pa
Note
A nautical unit.
10000 m2
Almost 1 atm =
101325 Pa (an
obsolete unit)
Note: the
conversion factor is
fixed by
convention.
Used in atomic and
molecular physics.
Used in particle
physics (collision
cross-sections).
Note: the
conversion factor is
fixed by
convention.
Note: the
conversion factor is
fixed by
convention.
Metric prefixes
Yotta = 1024 Symbol: Y
Zetta = 1021 Symbol: Z
Exa = 1018 Symbol: E
Peta = 1015 Symbol: P
Tera = 1012 Symbol: T
Giga = 109 Symbol: G
Mega = 106 Symbol: M
Kilo = 103 Symbol: k
Hecto = 102 Symbol: h
Deca = 101 Symbol: da
Deci = 10-1 Symbol: d
Centi = 10-2 Symbol: c
Milli = 10-3 Symbol: m
Micro = 10-6 Symbol:
Nano = 10-9 Symbol: n
Pico = 10-12 Symbol: p
Femto = 10-15 Symbol: f
Atto = 10-18 Symbol: a
Zepto = 10-21 Symbol: z
Yocto = 10-24 Symbol: y
Conversion factors for temperature
F = (oC)(9/5) + 32
C = (oF - 32)(5/9)
R = oF + 459.67
K = oC + 273.15
Conversion equivalencies for volume
1 US gallon (gal) = 231.0 cubic inches (in3) = 4 quarts (qt) = 8
pints (pt) = 128 fluid ounces (fl. oz.) = 3.7854 liters (l)
1 Imperial gallon (gal) = 160 fluid ounces (fl. oz.) = 4.546 liters (l)
Conversion equivalencies for distance
1 inch (in) = 2.540000 centimeter (cm)
Conversion equivalencies for velocity
1 mile per hour (mi/h) = 88 feet per minute (ft/m) = 1.46667 feet
per second (ft/s) = 1.60934 kilometer per hour (km/h) = 0.44704
meter per second (m/s) = 0.868976 knot (knotinternational)
Conversion equivalencies for weight
1 pound (lb) = 16 ounces (oz) = 0.45359 kilogram (kg)
Conversion equivalencies for force
1 pound-force (lbf) = 4.44822 newton (N)
Acceleration of gravity (free fall), Earth standard
9.806650 meters per second per second (m/s2) = 32.1740 feet
per second per second (ft/s2)
Conversion equivalencies for area
1 acre = 43560 square feet (ft2) = 4840 square yards (yd2) =
4046.86 square meters (m2)
Conversion equivalencies for pressure
1 pound per square inch (psi) = 2.03603 inches of mercury (in.
Hg) = 27.6807 inches of water (in. W.C.) = 6894.757 pascals (Pa)
= 0.0680460 atmospheres (Atm) = 0.0689476 bar (bar)
Conversion equivalencies for energy or work
1 british thermal unit (BTUInternational Table) = 251.996
calories (calInternational Table) = 1055.06 joules (J) =
1055.06 watt-seconds (W-s) = 0.293071 watt-hour (W-hr) =
1.05506 x 1010 ergs (erg) = 778.169 foot-pound-force (ft-lbf)
Conversion equivalencies for power
1 horsepower (hp550 ft-lbf/s) = 745.7 watts (W) = 2544.43
british thermal units per hour (BTU/hr) = 0.0760181 boiler
horsepower (hpboiler)
Conversion equivalencies for motor torque
Locate the row corresponding to known unit of torque along the left of the table.
Multiply by the factor under the column for the desired units. For example, to convert 2
oz-in torque to n-m, locate oz-in row at table left. Locate 7.062 x 10 -3 at intersection of
desired n-m units column. Multiply 2 oz-in x (7.062 x 10 -3 ) = 14.12 x 10-3 n-m.
Converting between units is easy if you have a set of equivalencies to work with.
Suppose we wanted to convert an energy quantity of 2500 calories into watt-hours.
What we would need to do is find a set of equivalent figures for those units. In our
reference here, we see that 251.996 calories is physically equal to 0.293071 watt
hour. To convert from calories into watt-hours, we must form a unity fraction with
these physically equal figures (a fraction composed of different figures and different
units, the numerator and denominator being physically equal to one another), placing
the desired unit in the numerator and the initial unit in the denominator, and then
multiply our initial value of calories by that fraction.
Since both terms of the unity fraction are physically equal to one another, the fraction
as a whole has aphysical value of 1, and so does not change the true value of any
figure when multiplied by it. When units are canceled, however, there will be a change
in units. For example, 2500 calories multiplied by the unity fraction of (0.293071 w-hr /
251.996 cal) = 2.9075 watt-hours.
The unity fraction approach to unit conversion may be extended beyond single steps.
Suppose we wanted to convert a fluid flow measurement of 175 gallons per hour into
liters per day. We have two units to convert here: gallons into liters, and hours into
days. Remember that the word per in mathematics means divided by, so our initial
figure of 175 gallons per hour means 175 gallons divided by hours. Expressing our
original figure as such a fraction, we multiply it by the necessary unity fractions to
convert gallons to liters (3.7854 liters = 1 gallon), and hours to days (1 day = 24
hours). The units must be arranged in the unity fraction in such a way that undesired
units cancel each other out above and below fraction bars. For this problem it means
using a gallons-to-liters unity fraction of (3.7854 liters / 1 gallon) and a hours-to-days
unity fraction of (24 hours / 1 day):
Our final (converted) answer is 15898.68 liters per day.
