International System of Units - Wikipedia

11/15/2016
InternationalSystemofUnitsWikipedia
InternationalSystemofUnits
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
TheInternationalSystemofUnits(French:Systmeinternational
d'units,SI)isthemodernformofthemetricsystem,andisthemost
widelyusedsystemofmeasurement.Itcomprisesacoherentsystemof
unitsofmeasurementbuiltonsevenbaseunits.Thesystemalso
establishesasetoftwentyprefixestotheunitnamesandunitsymbols
thatmaybeusedwhenspecifyingmultiplesandfractionsoftheunits.
Thesystemwaspublishedin1960astheresultofaninitiativethat
beganin1948.Itisbasedonthemetrekilogramsecondsystemofunits
(MKS)ratherthananyvariantofthecentimetregramsecondsystem
(CGS).SIisintendedtobeanevolvingsystem,soprefixesandunitsare
createdandunitdefinitionsaremodifiedthroughinternational
agreementasthetechnologyofmeasurementprogressesandthe
Thesevenbaseunitsinthe
precisionofmeasurementsimproves.The24thand25thGeneral
InternationalSystemofUnits
ConferencesonWeightsandMeasures(CGPM)in2011and2014,for
example,discussedaproposaltochangethedefinitionofthekilogram,
linkingittoaninvariantofnatureratherthantothemassofamaterialartefact,therebyensuringlongterm
stability.[1]
ThemotivationforthedevelopmentoftheSIwasthediversityofunitsthathadsprungupwithintheCGS
systemsandthelackofcoordinationbetweenthevariousdisciplinesthatusedthem.TheCGPM,whichwas
establishedbytheMetreConventionof1875,broughttogethermanyinternationalorganisationstonotonly
agreeonthedefinitionsandstandardsofthenewsystembutalsoagreeontherulesforwritingandpresenting
measurementsinastandardisedmanneraroundtheworld.
TheInternationalSystemofUnitshasbeenadoptedbymostdevelopedcountrieshowever,theadoptionhas
notbeenuniversalinallEnglishspeakingcountries.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Earlydevelopment
1.2 MetreConvention
1.3 TowardstheSI
1.4 InternationalSystemofQuantities
2 SIBrochureandconversionfactors
3 Unitsandprefixes
3.1 Baseunits
3.2 Derivedunits
3.3 Prefixes
3.4 NonSIunitsacceptedforusewithSI
4 Writingunitsymbolsandthevaluesofquantities
4.1 Unitnames
4.2 Unitnamesasadjectives
4.3 ChineseandJapanese
4.4 Unitsymbolsandthevaluesofquantities
4.4.1 Generalrules
4.4.2 PrintingSIsymbols
5 Realisationofunits
6 Post1960changes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units
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6 Post1960changes
6.1 ChangestotheSI
6.2 RetentionofnonSIunits
7 Globaladoption
7.1 UnitedKingdomandtheformerBritishEmpire
7.2 EuropeanUnion
7.3 India
7.4 UnitedStates
8 Redefinitionofunits
9 Seealso
10 Notes
11 References
12 Furtherreading
13 Externallinks
History
ThemetricsystemwasfirstimplementedduringtheFrenchRevolution(1790s)
withjustthemetreandkilogramasstandardsoflengthandmass[Note1]
respectively.Inthe1830sCarlFriedrichGausslaidthefoundationsfora
coherentsystembasedonlength,mass,andtime.Inthe1860sagroupworking
undertheauspicesoftheBritishAssociationfortheAdvancementofScience
formulatedtherequirementforacoherentsystemofunitswithbaseunitsand
derivedunits.Theinclusionofelectricalunitsintothesystemwashamperedby
thecustomaryuseofmorethanonesetofunits,until1900whenGiovanni
Giorgiidentifiedtheneedtodefineonesingleelectricalquantityasafourth
basequantityalongsidetheoriginalthreebasequantities.
Meanwhile,in1875,theTreatyoftheMetrepassedresponsibilityfor
verificationofthekilogramandmetreagainstagreedprototypesfromFrenchto
internationalcontrol.In1921,theTreatywasextendedtoincludeallphysical
quantitiesincludingelectricalunitsoriginallydefinedin1893.
StonemarkingtheAustro
Hungarian/Italianborderat
Pontebbadisplaying
myriametres,aunitof10km
usedinCentralEuropeinthe
19thcentury(butsince
In1948,anoverhaulofthemetricsystemwassetinmotionwhichresultedin
thedevelopmentofthe"Practicalsystemofunits"which,onitspublicationin
1960,wasgiventhename"TheInternationalSystemofUnits".In1954,the
10thGeneralConferenceonWeightsandMeasures(CGPM)identifiedelectric
currentasthefourthbasequantityinthepracticalsystemofunitsandadded
deprecated). [2][3]
twomorebasequantitiestemperatureandluminousintensitymakingsix
basequantitiesinall.Theunitsassociatedwiththesequantitieswerethemetre,
kilogram,second,ampere,kelvinandcandela.In1971,aseventhbasequantity,amountofsubstance
representedbythemole,wasaddedtothedefinitionofSI.
Earlydevelopment
Themetricsystemwasdevelopedfrom1791onwardsbyacommitteeoftheFrenchAcademyofSciences,
commissionedbytheNationalAssemblyandLouisXVItocreateaunifiedandrationalsystemofmeasures.[4]
Thegroup,whichincludedAntoineLavoisier(the"fatherofmodernchemistry")andthemathematicians
PierreSimonLaplaceandAdrienMarieLegendre,[5]:89usedthesameprinciplesforrelatinglength,volume,
andmassthathadbeenproposedbytheEnglishclergymanJohnWilkinsin1668[6][7]andtheconceptofusing
theEarth'smeridianasthebasisofthedefinitionoflength,originallyproposedin1670bytheFrenchabbot
Mouton.[8][9]
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On30March1791,theAssemblyadoptedthecommittee'sproposedprinciples
forthenewdecimalsystemofmeasureandauthorisedasurveybetween
DunkirkandBarcelonatoestablishthelengthofthemeridian.On11July1792,
thecommitteeproposedthenamesmetre,are,litreandgravefortheunitsof
length,area,capacity,andmass,respectively.Thecommitteealsoproposedthat
multiplesandsubmultiplesoftheseunitsweretobedenotedbydecimalbased
prefixessuchascentiforahundredthandkiloforathousand.[10]:82
Thelawof7April1795(loi
du18germinal)definedthe
termsgrammeand
kilogramme,whichreplaced
theformertermsgravet
CarlFriedrichGauss
(correctlymilligrave)and
grave,andon22June1799
(afterPierreMchainandJeanBaptisteDelambrehad
completedthemeridiansurvey)thedefinitivestandard
mtredesArchivesandkilogrammedesArchiveswere
depositedintheArchivesnationales.On10December1799
(amonthafterNapoleon'scoupd'tat),thelawbywhich
themetricsystemwastobedefinitivelyadoptedinFrance
(loidu19frimaire[16])waspassed.[17]
Thomson
Maxwell
WilliamThomson(LordKelvin)andJamesClerk
Maxwellplayedaprominentroleinthe
developmentoftheprincipleofcoherenceandin
thenamingofmanyunitsof
Duringthefirsthalfofthenineteenthcenturytherewas
littleconsistencyinthechoiceofpreferredmultiplesofthe
measure. [11][12][13][14][15]
baseunitstypicallythemyriametre(10 000metres)was
inwidespreaduseinbothFranceandpartsofGermany,
whilethekilogram(1000grams)ratherthanthemyriagramwasusedformass.[2]
In1832,theGermanmathematicianCarlFriedrichGauss,assistedbyWilhelmWeber,implicitlydefinedthe
secondasabaseunitwhenhequotedtheearth'smagneticfieldintermsofmillimetres,grams,andseconds.[11]
Priortothis,thestrengthoftheearthsmagneticfieldhadonlybeendescribedinrelativeterms.Thetechnique
usedbyGausswastoequatethetorqueinducedonasuspendedmagnetofknownmassbytheearthsmagnetic
fieldwiththetorqueinducedonanequivalentsystemundergravity.Theresultantcalculationsenabledhimto
assigndimensionsbasedonmass,lengthandtimetothemagneticfield.[18]
Inthe1860s,JamesClerkMaxwell,WilliamThomson(laterLordKelvin)andothersworkingunderthe
auspicesoftheBritishAssociationfortheAdvancementofScience,builtonGauss'workandformalisedthe
conceptofacoherentsystemofunitswithbaseunitsandderivedunits.Theprincipleofcoherencewas
successfullyusedtodefineanumberofunitsofmeasurebasedonthecentimetregramsecond(CGS)system
ofunits(CGS),includingtheergforenergy,thedyneforforce,thebaryeforpressure,thepoisefordynamic
viscosityandthestokesforkinematicviscosity.[14]
MetreConvention
AFrenchinspiredinitiativeforinternationalcooperationinmetrologyledtothesigningin1875oftheMetre
Convention.[5]:353354Initiallytheconventiononlycoveredstandardsforthemetreandthekilogram.Asetof
30prototypesofthemetreand40prototypesofthekilogram,[Note3]ineachcasemadeofa90%platinum10%
iridiumalloy,weremanufacturedbytheBritishfirmJohnson,Matthey&CoandacceptedbytheCGPMin
1889.OneofeachwasselectedatrandomtobecometheInternationalprototypemetreandInternational
prototypekilogramthatreplacedthemtredesArchivesandkilogrammedesArchivesrespectively.Each
memberstatewasentitledtooneofeachoftheremainingprototypestoserveasthenationalprototypeforthat
country.[20]
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Thetreatyestablishedthreeinternationalorganisationsto
overseethekeepingofinternationalstandardsof
measurement:[21]
French
talons
CGPMvocabulary
English
Pages[19]
[Technical]standard
5,95
prototype
prototype[kilogram/metre]
5,95
GeneralConferenceonWeightsandMeasures
(Confrencegnraledespoidsetmesuresor
[Somederivedunitshave]
nomsspciaux
16,106
CGPM)ameetingeveryfourtosixyearsof
specialnames
delegatesfromallmemberstatesthatreceivesand
miseenpratique
miseenpratique
82,171
discussesareportfromtheCIPMandthatendorses
[Practicalrealisation] [Note2]
newdevelopmentsintheSIontheadviceofthe
CIPM.
InternationalCommitteeforWeightsandMeasures(Comit
internationaldespoidsetmesuresorCIPM)acommitteethat
meetsannuallyattheBIPMandismadeupofeighteen
individualsofhighscientificstanding,nominatedbytheCGPM
toadvisetheCGPMonadministrativeandtechnicalmatters
InternationalBureauofWeightsandMeasures(Bureau
internationaldespoidsetmesuresorBIPM)aninternational
metrologycentreatSvresinFrancethathascustodyofthe
Internationalprototypekilogram,providesmetrologyservicesfor
theCGPMandCIPM,housesthesecretariatforthese
organisationsandhoststheirformalmeetings.Initiallyitsprime
CloseupoftheNationalPrototype
metrologicalpurposewasaperiodicrecalibrationofnational
Metre,serialnumber27,allocatedto
prototypemetresandkilogramsagainsttheinternational
theUnitedStates
prototype.
In1921,theMetreConventionwasextendedtoincludeallphysicalunits,includingtheampereandothers
definedbytheFourthInternationalConferenceofElectriciansinChicagoin1893,therebyenablingtheCGPM
toaddressinconsistenciesinthewaythatthemetricsystemhadbeenused.[12][22]:96
TheofficiallanguageoftheMetreConventionisFrench[23]andthedefinitiveversionofallofficialdocuments
publishedbyoronbehalfoftheCGPMistheFrenchlanguageversion.[22]:94
TowardstheSI
Atthecloseofthe19thcenturythreedifferentsystemsofunitsof
measureexistedforelectricalmeasurements:aCGSbasedsystemfor
electrostaticunits,alsoknownastheGaussianorESUsystem,aCGS
basedsystemforelectromechanicalunits(EMU)andanMKSbased
system("internationalsystem")[24]forelectricaldistributionsystems.
Attemptstoresolvetheelectricalunitsintermsoflength,mass,and
timeusingdimensionalanalysiswasbesetwithdifficultiesthe
dimensionsdependedonwhetheroneusedtheESUorEMU
systems.[15]Thisanomalywasresolvedin1900whenGiovanniGiorgi
publishedapaperinwhichheadvocatedusingafourthbaseunit
alongsidetheexistingthreebaseunits.Thefourthunitcouldbechosen
tobeelectriccurrent,voltage,orelectricalresistance.[25]
Inthelate19thandearly20thcenturies,anumberofnoncoherentunits
ofmeasurebasedonthegram/kilogram,thecentimetre/metre,andthe
second,suchasthePferdestrke(metrichorsepower)for
power,[26][Note4]thedarcyforpermeability[27]andtheuseof
Worldmapshowingmetrication,
colourcodedbyyearofconversion:
fromca1800(green)to1980(red).
Blackindicatesthenationsthathave
notyetadoptedtheSIsystem:
Burma,Liberia,andtheUnited
States.CanadaandtheUnited
Kingdombothhavefairlycommon
useofpreviouslyusedunits,e.g.,
speedlimitsintheUKandhuman
heightreportinginCanada.
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"millimetresofmercury"forthemeasurementofbothbarometricandbloodpressureweredevelopedor
propagated,someofwhichincorporatedstandardgravityintheirdefinitions.
AttheendoftheSecondWorldWar,anumberofdifferentsystemsofmeasurementwereinusethroughoutthe
world.Someofthesesystemsweremetricsystemvariations,whereasotherswerebasedoncustomarysystems
ofmeasure.In1948,afterrepresentationsbytheInternationalUnionofPureandAppliedPhysics(IUPAP)and
bytheFrenchGovernment,the9thGeneralConferenceonWeightsandMeasures(CGPM)askedthe
InternationalCommitteeforWeightsandMeasures(CIPM)toconductaninternationalstudyofthe
measurementneedsofthescientific,technical,andeducationalcommunitiesand"tomakerecommendations
forasinglepracticalsystemofunitsofmeasurement,suitableforadoptionbyallcountriesadheringtothe
MetreConvention".[28]
Onthebasisofthefindingsofthisstudy,the10thCGPMin1954decidedthataninternationalsystemshould
bederivedfromsixbaseunitstoprovideforthemeasurementoftemperatureandopticalradiationinaddition
tomechanicalandelectromagneticquantities.Sixbaseunitswererecommended:themetre,kilogram,second,
ampere,degreeKelvin(laterrenamedkelvin),andcandela.In1960,the11thCGPMnamedthesystemthe
InternationalSystemofUnits,abbreviatedSIfromtheFrenchname,LeSystmeInternational
d'Units.[22]:110[29]TheBIPMhasalsodescribedSIas"themodernmetricsystem".[22]:95Theseventhbaseunit,
themole,wasaddedin1971bythe14thCGPM.[30]
InternationalSystemofQuantities
TheInternationalSystemofQuantities(ISQ)isasystembasedonsevenbasequantities:length,mass,time,
electriccurrent,thermodynamictemperature,amountofsubstance,andluminousintensity.Otherquantities
suchasarea,pressure,andelectricalresistancearederivedfromthesebasequantitiesbyclearnon
contradictoryequations.TheISQdefinesthequantitiesthataremeasuredwiththeSIunits.[31]TheISQis
definedintheinternationalstandardISO/IEC80000,andwasfinalisedin2009withthepublicationofISO
800001.[32]
SIBrochureandconversionfactors
TheCGPMpublishesabrochurewhichdefinesandpresentsSI.[22]Itsofficial
versionisinFrench,inlinewiththeMetreConvention.[22]:102Itleavessomescope
forlocalinterpretation,particularlyregardingnamesandtermsindifferent
languages,soforexampletheUnitedStates'NationalInstituteofStandardsand
Technology(NIST)hasproducedaversionoftheCGPMdocument(NISTSP330)
whichclarifieslocalinterpretationforEnglishlanguagepublicationsthatuse
AmericanEnglish[33]andanotherdocument(NISTSP811)thatgivesgeneral
guidancefortheuseofSIintheUnitedStatesandconversionfactorsbetweenSI
andcustomaryunits.[34]
ThewritingandmaintenanceoftheCGPMbrochureiscarriedoutbyoneofthe
committeesoftheInternationalCommitteeforWeightsandMeasures(CIPM),the
ConsultativeCommitteeforUnits(CCU).TheCIPMnominatesthechairmanof
thiscommittee,butthecommitteeincludesrepresentativesofvariousother
internationalbodiesratherthanCIPMorCGPMnominees.[35][Note5]This
committeethusprovidesaforumforthebodiesconcernedtoprovideinputtothe
CIPMinrespectofongoingenhancementstoSI.
CoverofbrochureThe
InternationalSystemof
Units(http://www.bipm.o
rg/en/publications/sibroc
hure/)
Thedefinitionsoftheterms"quantity","unit","dimension"etc.thatareusedintheSIBrochurearethosegiven
intheInternationalvocabularyofmetrology,apublicationproducedbytheJointCommitteeforGuidesin
Metrology(JCGM),aworkinggroupconsistingofeightinternationalstandardsorganisationsunderthe
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chairmanshipofthedirectoroftheBIPM.[36]ThequantitiesandequationsthatdefinetheSIunitsarenow
referredtoastheInternationalSystemofQuantities(ISQ),andaresetoutintheInternationalStandard
ISO/IEC80000QuantitiesandUnits.
Unitsandprefixes
TheInternationalSystemofUnitsconsistsofasetofbaseunits,asetofderivedunitswithspecialnames,anda
setofdecimalbasedmultipliersthatareusedasprefixes.ThetermSIUnitscoversallthreecategories,butthe
termcoherentSIunitsincludesonlybaseunitsandcoherentderivedunits.[22]:103106
Baseunits
TheSIbaseunitsarethebuildingblocksofthesystemandallotherunitsarederivedfromthem.When
Maxwellfirstintroducedtheconceptofacoherentsystem,heidentifiedthreequantitiesthatcouldbeusedas
baseunits:mass,lengthandtime.Giorgilateridentifiedtheneedforanelectricalbaseunit.Theoreticallyany
oneofelectriccurrent,potentialdifference,electricalresistance,electricalchargeoranumberofother
quantitiescouldhaveprovidedthebaseunit,withtheremainingunitsthenbeingdefinedbythelawsof
physics.Intheevent,theunitofelectriccurrentwaschosenforSI.Anotherthreebaseunits(fortemperature,
substanceandluminousintensity)wereaddedlater.
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SIbaseunits[33]:23[37][38]
Unit
name
metre
kilogram[n2]
Unit
symbol
kg
Quantity
name
Definition(incomplete)[n1]
Dimension
symbol
length
1
Original(1793): 10 000
ofthemeridian
000
throughParisbetweentheNorthPoleandthe
Equator.FG
Interim(1960):1 650 763.73wavelengthsina
vacuumoftheradiationcorrespondingtothe
transitionbetweenthe2p10and5d5quantumlevels
ofthekrypton86atom.
Current(1983):Thedistancetravelledbylightin
1
vacuumin 299 792
second.
458
mass
Original(1793):Thegravewasdefinedasbeing
theweight[mass]ofonecubicdecimetreofpure
wateratitsfreezingpoint.FG
Current(1889):Themassoftheinternational
prototypekilogram.
Original(Medieval): 86 1400 ofaday.

second
ampere
kelvin
time
1
Interim(1956): 31 556 925.9747
ofthetropicalyear
for1900January0at12hoursephemeristime.
Current(1967):Thedurationof9 192 631 770
periodsoftheradiationcorrespondingtothe
transitionbetweenthetwohyperfinelevelsofthe
groundstateofthecaesium133atom.
electriccurrent
Original(1881):Atenthoftheelectromagnetic
CGSunitofcurrent.The[CGS]electromagnetic
unitofcurrentisthatcurrent,flowinginanarc
1cmlongofacircle1cminradius,thatcreatesa
fieldofoneoerstedatthecentre.[39]IEC
Current(1946):Theconstantcurrentwhich,if
maintainedintwostraightparallelconductorsof
infinitelength,ofnegligiblecircularcrosssection,
andplaced1mapartinvacuum,wouldproduce
betweentheseconductorsaforceequalto2 107
newtonspermetreoflength.
thermodynamic
temperature
Original(1743):Thecentigradescaleisobtained
byassigning0Ctothefreezingpointofwaterand
100Ctotheboilingpointofwater.
Interim(1954):Thetriplepointofwater(0.01C)
definedtobeexactly273.16K.[n3]
1
Current(1967): 273.16
ofthethermodynamic
temperatureofthetriplepointofwater
Original(1900):Themolecularweightofa
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mole
mol
candela
cd
amountof
substance
Original(1900):Themolecularweightofa
substanceinmassgrams.ICAW
Current(1967):Theamountofsubstanceofa
systemwhichcontainsasmanyelementaryentities
asthereareatomsin0.012kilogramofcarbon
12.[n4]
luminous
intensity
Original(1946):Thevalueofthenewcandleis
suchthatthebrightnessofthefullradiatoratthe
temperatureofsolidificationofplatinumis60new
candlespersquarecentimetre.
Current(1979):Theluminousintensity,inagiven
direction,ofasourcethatemitsmonochromatic
radiationoffrequency5.4 1014hertzandthathas
1
aradiantintensityinthatdirectionof 683
wattper
steradian.
Note
1.Interimdefinitionsaregivenhereonlywhentherehasbeenasignificantdifferenceinthedefinition.
2.Despitetheprefix"kilo",thekilogramisthebaseunitofmass.Thekilogram,notthegram,isusedinthe
definitionsofderivedunits.Nonetheless,unitsofmassarenamedasifthegramwerethebaseunit.
3.In1954theunitofthermodynamictemperaturewasknownasthe"degreeKelvin"(symbolK"Kelvin"speltwith
anuppercase"K").Itwasrenamedthe"kelvin"(symbol"K""kelvin"speltwithalowercase"k")in1967.
4.Whenthemoleisused,theelementaryentitiesmustbespecifiedandmaybeatoms,molecules,ions,electrons,
otherparticles,orspecifiedgroupsofsuchparticles.
Theoriginaldefinitionsofthevariousbaseunitsintheabovetableweremadebythefollowingauthorities:
FG=FrenchGovernment
IEC=InternationalElectrotechnicalCommission
ICAW=InternationalCommitteeonAtomicWeights
AllotherdefinitionsresultfromresolutionsbyeitherCGPMortheCIPMandarecataloguedintheSI
Brochure.
Derivedunits
ThederivedunitsintheSIareformedbypowers,productsorquotientsofthebaseunitsandareunlimitedin
number.[22]:103[33]:3Derivedunitsareassociatedwithderivedquantities,forexamplevelocityisaquantitythat
isderivedfromthebasequantitiesoftimeandlength,soinSIthederivedunitismetrespersecond(symbol
m/s).Thedimensionsofderivedunitscanbeexpressedintermsofthedimensionsofthebaseunits.
Coherentunitsarederivedunitsthatcontainnonumericalfactorotherthan1quantitiessuchasstandard
gravityanddensityofwaterareabsentfromtheirdefinitions.Intheexampleabove,onenewtonistheforce
requiredtoaccelerateamassofonekilogrambyonemetrepersecondsquared.SincetheSIunitsofmassand
accelerationarekgandms2respectivelyandFma,theunitsofforce(andhenceofnewtons)isformed
bymultiplicationtogivekgms2.Sincethenewtonispartofacoherentsetofunits,theconstantof
proportionalityis1.
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Forthesakeofconvenience,somederivedunitshavespecialnamesandsymbols.[13]Suchunitsmay
themselvesbeusedincombinationwiththenamesandsymbolsforbaseunitsandforotherderivedunitsto
expresstheunitsofotherderivedquantities.Forexample,theSIunitofforceisthenewton(N),theSIunitof
pressureisthepascal(Pa)andthepascalcanbedefinedas"newtonspersquaremetre"(N/m2).[40]
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NamedunitsderivedfromSIbaseunits[33]:3
Name
Symbol
Quantity
Expressed
in
termsof
otherSI
units
Expressedin
termsof
SIbaseunits
radian
rad
angle
mm1
steradian
sr
solidangle
m2m2
hertz
Hz
frequency
s1
newton
force,weight
pascal
Pa
pressure,stress
N/m2
kgm1s2
joule
energy,work,heat
Nm
kgm2s2
watt
power,radiantflux
J/s
kgm2s3
coulomb
electricchargeorquantityofelectricity
volt
voltage(electricalpotentialdifference),electromotive
force
W/A
kgm2s3A1
farad
electriccapacitance
C/V
kg1m2s4A2
ohm
electricresistance,impedance,reactance
V/A
kgm2s3A2
siemens
electricalconductance
A/V
kg1m2s3A2
magneticflux
Vs
kgm2s2A1
weber
Wb
kgms2
sA
tesla
magneticfluxdensity
Wb/m2
kgs2A1
henry
inductance
Wb/A
kgm2s2A2
degree
Celsius
temperaturerelativeto273.15K
lumen
lm
luminousflux
cdsr
cd
lux
lx
illuminance
lm/m2
m2cd
becquerel
Bq
radioactivity(decaysperunittime)
gray
Gy
absorbeddose(ofionizingradiation)
J/kg
m2s2
sievert
Sv
equivalentdose(ofionizingradiation)
J/kg
m2s2
katal
kat
catalyticactivity
s1
mols1
Notes
1.Theradianandsteradian,oncegivenspecialstatus,arenowconsidereddimensionlessderivedunits.[33]:3
2.Theorderingofthistableissuchthatanyderivedunitisbasedonlyonbaseunitsorderivedunitsthat
precedeitinthetable.
Prefixes
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Prefixesareaddedtounitnamestoproducemultipleandsubmultiplesoftheoriginalunit.Allmultiplesare
integerpowersoften,andaboveahundredorbelowahundredthallareintegerpowersofathousand.For
example,kilodenotesamultipleofathousandandmillidenotesamultipleofathousandth,sothereareone
thousandmillimetrestothemetreandonethousandmetrestothekilometre.Theprefixesarenevercombined,
soforexampleamillionthofametreisamicrometre,notamillimillimetre.Multiplesofthekilogramare
namedasifthegramwerethebaseunit,soamillionthofakilogramisamilligram,nota
microkilogram.[22]:122[34]:14
StandardprefixesfortheSIunitsofmeasure
Prefixname
deca hecto kilo mega giga tera peta
Multiples Prefixsymbol
Factor
da
100 101 102
103 106
109
1012 1015
exa zetta yotta

E
1018 1021 1024
Prefixname
deci centi milli micro nano pico femto atto zepto yocto
Fractions Prefixsymbol
Factor
100 101 102 103 106
109 1012 1015 1018 1021 1024
NonSIunitsacceptedforusewithSI
Although,intheory,SIcanbeusedforanyphysicalmeasurement,theCIPMhasrecognisedthatsomenonSI
unitsstillappearinthescientific,technical,andcommercialliterature,andwillcontinuetobeusedformany
yearstocome.Inaddition,certainotherunitsaresodeeplyembeddedinthehistoryandcultureofthehuman
racethattheywillcontinuetobeusedfortheforeseeablefuture.TheCIPMhascataloguedseveralsuchunits
andpublishedthemintheSIBrochuresothattheirusemaybeconsistentaroundtheworld.Theseunitshave
beengroupedasfollows:[22]:123129[34]:711[Note6]
NonSIunitsacceptedforusewiththeSI(Table6):
Certainunitsoftime,angle,andlegacynonSImetricunitshavea
longhistoryofconsistentuse.Mostofmankindhasusedtheday
anditsnondecimalsubdivisionsasabasisoftimeand,unlikethe
footorthepound,thesewerethesameregardlessofwherethey
1
werebeingmeasured.Theradian,being 2
ofarevolution,has
mathematicaladvantagesbutitiscumbersomefornavigation,
and,aswithtime,theunitsusedinnavigationhavealargedegree
ofconsistencyaroundtheworld.Thetonne,litre,andhectare
wereadoptedbytheCGPMin1879andhavebeenretainedas
unitsthatmaybeusedalongsideSIunits,havingbeengiven
uniquesymbols.Thecataloguedunitsare
minute,hour,day,degreeofarc,minuteofarc,secondof
arc,hectare,litre,tonne,astronomicalunitand[deci]bel
ThelitreisclassedasanonSIunit
acceptedforusewiththeSI.
Beingonethousandthofacubic
metre,thelitreisnotacoherentunit
ofmeasurewithrespecttoSI.
NonSIunitswhosevaluesinSIunitsmustbeobtainedexperimentally(Table7).
Physicistsoftenuseunitsofmeasurethatarebasedonnaturalphenomena,particularlywhenthe
quantitiesassociatedwiththesephenomenaaremanyordersofmagnitudegreaterthanorlessthanthe
equivalentSIunit.ThemostcommononeshavebeencataloguedintheSIBrochuretogetherwith
consistentsymbolsandacceptedvalues,butwiththecaveatthattheirvaluesinSIunitsneedtobe
measured.[Note7]
electronvolt(symboleV),anddalton/unifiedatomicmassunit(Daoru)
OthernonSIunits(Table8):
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AnumberofnonSIunitsthathadneverbeenformallysanctionedbytheCGPMhavecontinuedtobe
usedacrosstheglobeinmanyspheresincludinghealthcareandnavigation.Aswiththeunitsofmeasure
inTables6and7,thesehavebeencataloguedbytheCIPMintheSIBrochuretoensureconsistentusage,
butwiththerecommendationthatauthorswhousethemshoulddefinethemwherevertheyareused.
bar,millimetreofmercury,ngstrm,nauticalmile,barn,knotandneper
NonSIunitsassociatedwiththeCGSandtheCGSGaussiansystemofunits(Table9)
TheSImanualalsocataloguesanumberoflegacyunitsofmeasurethatareusedinspecificfieldssuch
asgeodesyandgeophysicsorarefoundintheliterature,particularlyinclassicalandrelativistic
electrodynamicswheretheyhavecertainadvantages:Theunitsthatarecataloguedare:
erg,dyne,poise,stokes,stilb,phot,gal,maxwell,gauss,andrsted.
Writingunitsymbolsandthevaluesofquantities
Before1948,thewritingofmetricquantitieswashaphazard.In1879,theCIPMpublishedrecommendations
forwritingthesymbolsforlength,area,volumeandmass,butitwasoutsideitsdomaintopublish
recommendationsforotherquantities.Beginninginabout1900,physicistswhohadbeenusingthesymbol""
for"micrometre"(or"micron"),""for"microlitre",and""for"microgram"startedtousethesymbols"m",
"L"and"g",butitwasonlyin1935,adecadeaftertherevisionoftheMetreConventionthattheCIPM
formallyadoptedthisproposalandrecommendedthatthesymbol""beuseduniversallyasaprefixfor
106.[41]
In1948,theninthCGPMapprovedthefirstformalrecommendationforthewritingofsymbolsinthemetric
systemwhenthebasisoftherulesastheyarenowknownwaslaiddown.[42]Theserulesweresubsequently
extendedbyInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO)andtheInternationalElectrotechnical
Commission(IEC)andnowcoverunitsymbolsandnames,prefixsymbolsandnames,howquantitysymbols
shouldbewrittenandusedandhowthevaluesofquantitiesshouldbeexpressed.[22]:104,130BothISOandthe
IEChavepublishedrulesforthepresentationofSIunitsthataregenerallycompatiblewiththosepublishedin
theSIBrochure.[43]AsofAugust2013ISOandIECwereintheprocessofmergingtheirstandardsfor
quantitiesandunitsintoasinglesetofcompatibledocumentsidentifiedastheISO/IEC80000Standard.The
rulescoveringprintingofquantitiesandunitsarepartofISO800001:2009.[44]
Unitnames
Namesofunitsfollowthegrammaticalrulesassociatedwithcommonnouns:inEnglishandinFrenchthey
startwithalowercaseletter(e.g.,newton,hertz,pascal),evenwhenthesymbolfortheunitbeginswitha
capitalletter.Thisalsoappliesto"degreesCelsius",since"degree"istheunit.[45][46]InGerman,however,the
namesofunits,aswithallGermannouns,startwithcapitalletters.[47]Thespellingofunitnamesisamatterfor
theguardians[Note8]ofthelanguageconcernedtheofficialBritishandAmericanspellingsforcertainSIunits
differBritishEnglish,aswellasAustralian,CanadianandNewZealandEnglish,usesthespellingdeca,
metre,andlitrewhereasAmericanEnglishusesthespellingdeka,meter,andliter,respectively.[48]
Likewise,thepluralformsofunitsfollowthegrammarofthelanguageconcerned:inEnglish,thenormalrules
ofEnglishgrammarareused,e.g."henries"isthepluralof"henry".[49][34]:31However,theunitslux,hertz,and
siemenshaveirregularpluralsinthattheyremainthesameinboththeirsingularandpluralform.Pluralforms
canbeevenmorecomplicatedinotherlanguages.ForexampleinPolishthepluralformdependsontheactual
quantity:0metrw,1metr,2metry,3metry,4metry,5metrw,6metrw,7metrw,8metrw,etc.For
fractionsitismetrw.E.g.0,67metrw,2,45metrw.
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InEnglish,whenunitnamesarecombinedtodenotemultiplicationoftheunitsconcerned,theyareseparated
withahyphenoraspace(e.g.newtonmetreornewtonmetre).Thepluralisformedbyconvertingthelastunit
nametothepluralform(e.g.tennewtonmetres).
Unitnamesasadjectives
InEnglish,aspaceisrecommendedbetweenthenumberandtheunitsymbolwhenusedasanadjective,e.g."a
25kgsphere".
ThenormalrulesofEnglishapplytounitnames,whereahyphenisincorporatedintotheadjectivalsense,e.g.
"a25kilogramsphere".[50]
ChineseandJapanese
Chineseusestraditionallogogramsforwritingtheunitnames,whilein
Japaneseunitnamesarewritteninthephonetickatakanascriptinboth
cases,symbolsarealsowrittenusingtheinternationallyrecognised
LatinandGreekcharacters.
Chinese
ThebasicChineseunitsaremetre(m),litre(shng),gram(
k),andsecond(mio),whileothersincludewatt(w).Prefixes
includedeci(fn),centi(l),milli(ho),micro(wi),
kilo(qin),andmega(zho).Thesearecombinedtoform
disyllabiccharacters,suchaslm"centimetre"orqinw
"kilowatt".[51]Inthe19thcentury,variouscompoundcharacterswere
alsoused,similartoJapanese,eitherimportedorformedonthesame
principles,suchasforqinw(kilowatt)orfor.These
aregenerallynotusedtoday,butareoccasionallyfoundinolderor
technicalwriting.[52]
Chineseexpresswaydistancesroad
signineasternBeijing.Althoughthe
primarytextisinChinese,the
distancesusetheinternationally
recognisednumeralsandsymbols.
SomeunitshavedifferentnamesinTaiwan.Meter(),centimeter(),liter(),kilogram(),
gram()andhectare()havetheprefix"",whichmeans"universal".Theprefixes"",""and
""arenotcommonlyused,andtheuseof""islimitedtokilowatt().
Japanese
AsetofcharactersrepresentingvariousmetricunitswascreatedinJapaninthelate19thcentury.Characters,
sameastheChinese,existforthreebaseunits:themetre(),litre()andgram().Thesewerecombined
withasetofsixprefixcharacterskilo(),hecto(),deca(),deci(),centi()andmilli()to
formanadditional18singlecharacterunits.Thesevenlengthunits(kilometretomillimetre),forexample,are
,,,,,and.Thesecharacters,however,arenotincommonusetodayinstead,unitsare
writteninkatakana,theJapanesesyllabaryusedforforeignborrowings,suchas(kiromtoru)
forkilometre,butarealsowritteninstandardprefixessuchas"km"forkilometre.AfewSinoJapanesewords
fortheseunitsremaininuseinJapanese,mostsignificantly""(heibei)for"squaremetre",butotherwise
borrowedpronunciationsareused.
Thesecharactersareexamplesoftherarephenomenonofsinglecharacterloanwordsaforeignword
representedbyasingleJapanesecharacterandformthepluralityofsuchwords.Similarcharacterswerealso
coinedforotherunits,suchasBritishunits,thoughthesealsohavefallenoutofuseseeSinglecharacter
gairaigo:MetricunitsandSinglecharactergairaigo:Otherunitsforafulllist.
Unitsymbolsandthevaluesofquantities
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Althoughthewritingofunitnamesislanguagespecific,thewritingofunitsymbolsandthevaluesof
quantitiesisconsistentacrossalllanguagesandthereforetheSIBrochurehasspecificrulesinrespectof
writingthem.[22]:130135TheguidelineproducedbytheNationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology
(NIST)[53]clarifieslanguagespecificareasinrespectofAmericanEnglishthatwereleftopenbytheSI
Brochure,butisotherwiseidenticaltotheSIBrochure.[49]
Generalrules
Generalrules[Note9]forwritingSIunitsandquantitiesapplytotextthatiseitherhandwrittenorproducedusing
anautomatedprocess:
Thevalueofaquantityiswrittenasanumberfollowedbyaspace(representingamultiplicationsign)
andaunitsymbole.g.,2.21kg,7.3 102m2,22K.Thisruleexplicitlyincludesthepercentsign
(%)[22]:134andthesymbolfordegreesoftemperature(C).[22]:133Exceptionsarethesymbolsforplane
angulardegrees,minutes,andseconds(,,and),whichareplacedimmediatelyafterthenumberwith
nointerveningspace.
Symbolsaremathematicalentities,notabbreviations,andassuchdonothaveanappendedperiod/full
stop(.),unlesstherulesofgrammardemandoneforanotherreason,suchasdenotingtheendofa
sentence.
Aprefixispartoftheunit,anditssymbolisprependedtotheunitsymbolwithoutaseparator(e.g.,kin
km,MinMPa,GinGHz).Compoundprefixesarenotallowed.
Symbolsforderivedunitsformedbymultiplicationarejoinedwithacentredot()oranonbreaking
spacee.g.,NmorNm.
Symbolsforderivedunitsformedbydivisionarejoinedwithasolidus(/),orgivenasanegative
m
exponent.E.g.,the"metrepersecond"canbewrittenm/s,ms1,ms1,or s .Onlyonesolidusshould
beusede.g.,kg/(ms2)andkgm1s2areacceptable,butkg/m/s2isambiguousandunacceptable.
Thefirstletterofsymbolsforunitsderivedfromthenameofa
personiswritteninuppercaseotherwise,theyarewritteninlower
case.E.g.,theunitofpressureisnamedafterBlaisePascal,soits
symboliswritten"Pa",butthesymbolformoleiswritten"mol".
Thus,"T"isthesymbolfortesla,ameasureofmagneticfield
strength,and"t"thesymbolfortonne,ameasureofmass.Since
Accelerationduetogravity.
1979,thelitremayexceptionallybewrittenusingeitheran
Thelowercaseletters(neither
uppercase"L"oralowercase"l",adecisionpromptedbythe
"metres"nor"seconds"were
similarityofthelowercaseletter"l"tothenumeral"1",especially
namedafterpeople),thespace
withcertaintypefacesorEnglishstylehandwriting.TheAmerican
betweenthevalueandtheunits,
NISTrecommendsthatwithintheUnitedStates"L"beusedrather
andthesuperscript"2"todenote
than"l".
Symbolsofunitsdonothaveapluralforme.g.,25kg,not25kgs.
"squared".
Uppercaseandlowercaseprefixesarenotinterchangeable.E.g.,the
quantities1mWand1MWrepresenttwodifferentquantitiesthe
formeristhetypicalpowerrequirementofahearingaid(1milliwattor0.001watts),andthelatterthe
typicalpowerrequirementofasuburbantrain(1megawattor1 000 000watts).
The10thresolutionofCGPMin2003declaredthat"thesymbolforthedecimalmarkershallbeeither
thepointonthelineorthecommaontheline."Inpractice,thedecimalpointisusedinEnglishspeaking
countriesandmostofAsia,andthecommainmostofLatinAmericaandincontinentalEuropean
countries.[54]
Spacesshouldbeusedasathousandsseparator(1 000 000)incontrasttocommasorperiods(1,000,000
or1.000.000)toreduceconfusionresultingfromthevariationbetweentheseformsindifferentcountries.
Anylinebreakinsideanumber,insideacompoundunit,orbetweennumberandunitshouldbeavoided.
Wherethisisnotpossible,linebreaksshouldcoincidewiththousandsseparators.
Sincethevalueof"billion"and"trillion"canvaryfromlanguagetolanguage,thedimensionlessterms
"ppb"(partsperbillion)and"ppt"(partspertrillion)shouldbeavoided.Noalternativeissuggestedinthe
SIBrochure.
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PrintingSIsymbols
Furtherrules[Note9]arespecifiedinrespectofproductionoftextusingprintingpresses,wordprocessors,
typewritersandthelike.
Symbolsarewritteninupright(Roman)type(mformetres,sforseconds),soastodifferentiatefromthe
italictypeusedforquantities(mformass,sfordisplacement).Byconsensusofinternationalstandards
bodies,thisruleisappliedindependentofthefontusedforsurroundingtext.
InChinese,Japanese,andKoreanlanguagecomputing(CJK),someofthecommonlyusedunits,prefix
unitcombinations,orunitexponentcombinationshavebeenallocatedpredefinedsinglecharacters
takingupafullsquare.UnicodeincludestheseinitsCJKCompatibility(http://www.unicode.org/charts/
PDF/U3300.pdf)andletterlikesymbols(http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2100.pdf)subrangesfor
backcompatibility,withoutnecessarilyrecommendingfutureusage.ThesearesummarisedinUnicode
symbols.Thecursive,aletterlikesymbol,hasbeenusedinanumberofcountriesinadditiontoChina
andJapanasasymbolforthelitre,butthisisnotcurrentlyrecommendedbyanystandardsbody.
Inprint,thespaceusedasathousandsseparator(commonlycalledathinspace)istypicallynarrower
thanthatusedbetweenwords.
Realisationofunits
Metrologistscarefullydistinguishbetweenthedefinitionofaunitandits
realisation.ThedefinitionofeachbaseunitoftheSIisdrawnupsothatitis
uniqueandprovidesasoundtheoreticalbasisonwhichthemostaccurateand
reproduciblemeasurementscanbemade.Therealisationofthedefinitionofa
unitistheprocedurebywhichthedefinitionmaybeusedtoestablishthevalue
andassociateduncertaintyofaquantityofthesamekindastheunit.A
descriptionofthemiseenpratique[Note10]ofthebaseunitsisgiveninan
electronicappendixtotheSIBrochure.[56][22]:168169
Thepublishedmiseenpratiqueisnottheonlywayinwhichabaseunitcanbe
determined:theSIBrochurestatesthat"anymethodconsistentwiththelawsof
physicscouldbeusedtorealiseanySIunit."[22]:111Inthecurrent(2016)
exercisetooverhaulthedefinitionsofthebaseunits,variousconsultative
committeesoftheCIPMhaverequiredthatmorethanonemiseenpratique
shallbedevelopedfordeterminingthevalueofeachunit.Inparticular:
Siliconsphereforthe
Avogadroprojectusedfor
measuringtheAvogadro
constanttoarelative
Atleastthreeseparateexperimentsbecarriedoutyieldingvalueshaving
arelativestandarduncertaintyinthedeterminationofthekilogramofno
uncertaintyof2 108or
8
morethan5 10 andatleastoneofthesevaluesshouldbebetterthan
less,heldbyAchim
8
2 10 .BoththeWattbalanceandtheAvogadroprojectshouldbe
Leistner. [55]
includedintheexperimentsandanydifferencesbetweenthesebe
reconciled.[57][58]
Whenthekelvinisbeingdetermined,therelativeuncertaintyoftheBoltzmannconstantderivedfrom
twofundamentallydifferentmethodssuchasacousticgasthermometryanddielectricconstantgas
thermometrybebetterthanonepartin106andthatthesevaluesbecorroboratedbyother
measurements.[59]
Post1960changes
ThepreambletotheMetreConventionread"Desiringtheinternationaluniformityandprecisioninstandards
ofweightandmeasure,haveresolvedtoconcludeaconvention...".[23]Changingtechnologyhasledtoan
evolutionofthedefinitionsandstandardsthathasfollowedtwoprincipalstrandschangestoSIitselfand
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clarificationofhowtouseunitsofmeasurethatarenotpartofSI,butarestillneverthelessusedona
worldwidebasis.
ChangestotheSI
Since1960theCGPMhasmadeanumberofchangestoSI.Theseinclude:
The13thCGPM(1967)renamedthe"degreeKelvin"(symbolK)tothe"kelvin"(symbolK)[22]:156
The14thCGPM(1971)addedthemole(symbolmol)tothelistofbaseunits.[60]
The14thGCPM(1971)addedthepascal(symbolPa)forpressureandthesiemens(symbolS)for
electricalconductancetothelistofnamedderivedunits.[22]:156
The15thCGPM(1975)addedthebecquerel(symbolBq)for"activityreferredtoaradionuclide"andthe
gray(symbolGy)forionizingradiationtothelistofnamedderivedunits[22]:156
Inordertodistinguishbetween"absorbeddose"and"doseequivalent",the16thCGPM(1979)addedthe
sievert(symbolSv)tothelistofnamedderivedunitsastheunitofdoseequivalent.[22]:158
The16thCGPM(1979)clarifiedthatinabreakwithconventioneithertheletter"L"ortheletter"l"may
beusedasasymbolforthelitre.[22]:159
The21stCGPM(1999)addedthekatal(symbolkat)forcatalytic
activitytothelistofnamedderivedunits.[22]:165
Initsoriginalform(1960),theSIdefinedprefixesforvalues
rangingfrompico(symbolp)havingavalueof1012totera
(symbolT)havingavalueof1012.Thelistwasextendedatthe
12thCGPM(1964),[22]:152atthe15thCGPM(1975)[22]:158andat
the19thCGPM(1991)[22]:164togivethecurrentrangeof
prefixes.
Inaddition,advantagewastakenofdevelopmentsintechnologyto
redefinemanyofthebaseunitsenablingtheuseofhigherprecision
techniques.
RetentionofnonSIunits
Sphygmomanometerthetraditional
devicethatmeasuresbloodpressure
usingmercuryinamanometer.
Pressuresarerecordedin"millimetres
ofmercury"anonSIunit
Although,intheory,SIcanbeusedforanyphysicalmeasurement,itis
recognisedthatsomenonSIunitsstillappearinthescientific,technical
andcommercialliterature,andwillcontinuetobeusedformanyyears
tocome.Inaddition,certainotherunitsaresodeeplyembeddedinthe
historyandcultureofthehumanracethattheywillcontinuetobeused
fortheforeseeablefuture.[61]TheCIPMhascataloguedsuchunitsandincludedthemintheSIBrochuresothat
theycanbeusedconsistently.
ThefirstsuchgroupcomprisestheunitsoftimeandofanglesandcertainlegacynonSImetricunits.Mostof
mankindhasusedthedayanditssubdivisionsasabasisoftimewiththeresultthatthesecond,minute,hour
andday,unlikethefootorthepound,werethesameregardlessofwhereitwasbeingmeasured.Thesecond
hasbeencataloguedasanSIunit,itsmultiplesasunitsofmeasurethatmaybeusedalongsidetheSI.The
1
measurementofangleshaslikewisehadalonghistoryofconsistentusetheradian,being 2
ofarevolution,
hasmathematicalniceties,butitiscumbersomefornavigation,hencetheretentionofthedegree,minuteand
secondofarc.Thetonne,litreandhectarewereadoptedbytheCGPMin1879andhavebeenretainedasunits
thatmaybeusedalongsideSIunits,havingbeengivenuniquesymbols.
Physicistsoftenuseunitsofmeasurethatarebasedonnaturalphenomenasuchasthespeedoflight,themass
ofaproton(approximatelyonedalton),thechargeofanelectronandthelike.Thesetoohavebeencatalogued
intheSIBrochurewithconsistentsymbols,butwiththecaveatthattheirphysicalvaluesneedtobe
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measured.[Note11]
Intheinterestsofstandardisinghealthrelatedunitsofmeasureusedinthenuclearindustry,the12thCGPM
(1964)acceptedthecontinueduseofthecurie(symbolCi)asanonSIunitofactivityforradionuclides[22]:152
thebecquerel,sievertandgraywereadoptedinlateryears.Similarly,themillimetreofmercury(symbol
mmHg)wasretainedformeasuringbloodpressure.[22]:127
Globaladoption
SIhasbecometheworld'smostwidelyusedsystemof
measurement,usedinbotheverydaycommerceandscience.[63][64]
ThechangetoSIhadlittleeffectoneverydaylifeincountriesthat
usedthemetricsystemthemetre,kilogram,litreandsecond
remainedunchangedasdidthewayinwhichtheywereusedmost
ofthechangesonlyaffectedmeasurementsintheworkplace.[65]
TheCGPMhasaroleofrecommendingchanges,butnoformalrole
intheenforcementofsuchchangesanotherintergovernmental
organisation,theInternationalOrganizationofLegalMetrology
(OIML)providesaforumforharmonisationofnationalstandards
andlegislationinrespectofmetrology.
Topviewofthe
2kgweight(witha
creditcardtoshow
theweight'ssize)
Bottomviewofthe
2kgshowingthe
leadplugand
assayer'sstamp.
BoththedegreeandrateofadoptionofSIvariedfromcountryto
countrycountriesthathadnotadoptedthemetricsystemby1960
Acommercialqualityhexagonal2kg
andsubsequentlyadoptedSIdidsodirectlyaspartoftheir
weightwithaleadplugandassayer'smark
metricationprogramswhileothersmigratedfromtheCGSsystem
andyearofmanufacture("79"
ofunitstoSI.In1960,theworld'slargesteconomywasthatofthe
representing"1979")thatissimilarto,but
UnitedStates,followedbytheUnitedKingdom,WestGermany,
whichpredatesOIMLrecommendation
France,Japan,ChinaandIndia.[66]TheUnitedStatesandthe
R52. [62]
UnitedKingdomwerenonmetric,FranceandGermanyhadbeen
usingthemetricsystemforaboutacentury,andChinahadbeen
usingthemetricsystemfor35years,whileIndiaandJapanhadadoptedthemetricsystemwithinthepreceding
fiveyears.OthernonmetriccountrieswerethosewheretheUnitedKingdomortheUnitedStateshad
considerableinfluence.[Note12][67]Thesedifferencesarebroughtoutintheexamplesbelow:
UnitedKingdomandtheformerBritishEmpire
EventhoughtheuseofmetricunitswaslegalisedfortradeintheUKin1864,theUKhadsignedtheMetre
Conventionin1884andtheUKParliamenthaddefinedtheyardandthepoundintermsofthemetreandthe
kilogramin1897,theUKcontinuedtousetheimperialsystemofmeasure[68]andtoexporttheimperialsystem
ofunitstotheEmpire.[Note13]In1932,thesystemofImperialPreferencewassetupattheOttawaConference.
AlthoughIrelandlefttheCommonwealthin1948andSouthAfricain1961,[69]bothcontinuedtheirclose
economictieswiththeCommonwealth.[70]
MetricationlogooftheBoard
ofTrade
WhentheSIstandardwaspublishedin1960,theonlymajorCommonwealth
countrytohaveadoptedthemetricsystemwasIndia.In1863,thefirstreading
ofabillthatwouldhavemadethemetricsystemcompulsorypasseditsfirst
readingintheHouseofCommonsby110votesto75.Thebill,however,failed
tomakethestatutebookbecauseoflackofparliamentarytime.[10]:136In1965,
afterthisandsimilarfalsestartsthethenFederationofBritishIndustry
informedtheBritishGovernmentthatitsmembersfavouredtheadoptionofthe
metricsystem.Therationalebehindtherequestwasthat80%ofBritish
exportsweretocountriesthatusedthemetricsystemorthatwereconsidering
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changingtothemetricsystem.TheBoardofTrade,onbehalfoftheGovernment,agreedtosupportatenyear
metricationprogramme.Thegovernmentagreedtoavoluntarypolicyrequiringminimallegislationandcosts
tobebornewheretheyfell.SIwouldbeusedfromtheoutset.[71]TherestoftheCommonwealth,SouthAfrica
andIrelandfollowedwithinafewyearsinsomecountriessuchasSouthAfricaandAustraliametricationwas
mandatoryratherthanvoluntary.[72][73]
By1980allapartfromtheUnitedKingdom,CanadaandIrelandhadeffectivelycompletedtheirprograms.In
theUnitedKingdomthebreakdownofvoluntarymetricationinthemid1970s[74]:1.8coincidedwiththeUnited
Kingdom'sobligationsaspartoftheEECtoadoptthemetricsystem,resultinginlegislationtoforce
metricationincertainareasandtheEuroscepticmovementadoptinganantimetricationstanceandtheUnited
KingdomseekinganumberofderogationsfromtherelevantEECdirectives.Oncethemetricationofmost
consumergoodswascompletedin2000,aspectsofBritishlife,especiallyingovernment,commerceand
industryusedSI.[74]:1.6&1.10Althoughimperialunitsarewidelyencounteredinunregulatedareassuchasthe
pressandeverydayspeech,SIorunitsapprovedforusealongsideSIareusedinmostareaswhereunitsof
measureareregulated.Highprofileexceptionsincludethesaleofdraughtbeer,thesaleofmilkinreturnable
containers,andUnitedKingdomroadsigns.Irishroadsigns(roaddistancesandspeeds)wereconvertedto
metricunitsduringthefirstdecadeofthe21stcentury[75]otherwise,thesituationinIrelandissimilartothatin
theUnitedKingdom.[76]
Canadahasadopteditformostpurposes,butimperialunitsarestilllegallypermittedandremainincommon
usethroughoutafewsectorsofCanadiansociety,particularlyinthebuildings,tradesandrailways
sectors.[77][78]
EuropeanUnion
In1960,allthelargestindustrialisednationsthathadanestablishedhistoryofusingthemetricsystemwere
membersoftheEuropeanEconomicCommunity(EEC).
In1972,inordertoharmoniseunitsofmeasureaspartofaprogrammetofacilitatetradebetweenmember
states,theEECissueddirective71/354/EEC.[79]Thisdirectivecataloguedunitsofmeasurethatcouldbeused
for"economic,publichealth,publicsafetyandadministrativepurposes"andalsoprovidedinstructionsfora
transitionfromtheexistingunitsofmeasurethatwereinuse.ThedirectivereplicatedtheCGPMSI
recommendationsandinadditionpreemptedsomeoftheadditionswhoseusehadbeenrecommendedbythe
CIPMin1969,buthadnotbeenratifiedbytheCGPM.[Note14]Thedirectivealsocataloguedunitsofmeasure
whosestatuswouldbereviewedbytheendof1977(mainlycoherentCGSunitsofmeasure)andalso
cataloguedunitsofmeasurethatweretobephasedoutbytheendof1977,includingtheuseofobsoletenames
forthesaleoftimbersuchasthestere,theuseofunitsofforceandpressurethatmadeuseoftheacceleration
duetogravity,[Note15]theuseofnoncoherentunitsofpowersuchasthePferdestrke(PS),theuseofthe
calorieasameasureofenergyandthestilbasameasureofluminance.Thedirectivewassilentinrespectof
unitsthatwerespecifictooneortwocountriesincludingthepond,pfund,livre(Dutch,GermanandFrench
synonymsfor500g),therebyeffectivelyprohibitingtheiruseaswell.
Whenthedirectivewasrevisitedduring1977,someoftheolderunitsthatwerebeingreviewed(suchas
millimetreofmercuryforbloodpressure)[Note16]wereretainedbutotherswerephasedout,therebybroadly
aligningtheallowableunitswithSI.ThedirectivewashoweveroverhauledtoaccommodateBritishandIrish
interestsinretainingtheimperialsystemincertaincircumstances.[80]Itwasreissuedasdirective80/181/EEC.
Duringsubsequentrevisions,thedirectivehasreflectedchangesinthedefinitionofSI.Thedirectivealso
formalisedtheuseofsupplementaryunits,whichin1979werepermittedforaperiodoftenyears.Thecutoff
datefortheuseofsupplementaryunitswasextendedanumberoftimesandin2009wasextended
indefinitely.[81]
India
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IndiawasoneofthelastcountriestostartametricationprogrammebeforetheadventofSI.Whenitbecame
independentin1947,bothimperialandnativeunitsofmeasurewereinuse.Itsmetricationprogrammestarted
in1956withthepassingoftheStandardsofWeightsandMeasuresAct.Partoftheactfixedthevalueofthe
seer(alegacyunitofmass)to0.9331kgexactlyelsewheretheActdeclaredthatfrom1960allnonmetric
unitsofmeasureweretobeillegal.[82]
FouryearsaftertheIndianGovernmentannounceditsmetricationprogramme,SIwaspublished.Theresult
wasthattheinitialmetricationprogrammewasaconversiontotheCGSsystemofunitsandthesubsequent
adoptionofSIhasbeenhaphazard.Fiftyyearslater,manyofthecountry'sschoolbooksstilluseCGSor
imperialunits.[83]OriginallytheIndianGovernmenthadplannedtoreplaceallunitsofmeasurewithmetric
unitsby1960.In1976anewWeightsandMeasuresActreplacedthe1956Actwhich,amongstotherthings,
requiredthatallweighingdevicesbeapprovedbeforebeingreleasedontothemarketplace.However,in2012,
itwasreportedthattraditionalunitswerestillencounteredinsmallmanufacturingestablishmentsandinthe
marketplacealongsideCGS,SIandimperialmeasures,particularlyinthepoorerareas.[84]
TheuseoftheIndiannumberingsystemofcrores(10 000 000)andlakhs
(100 000),whichdonotmapontotheSIsystemofprefixes,iswidespreadand
isoftenfoundalongsideorinplaceofthewesternnumberingsystem.[86]
UnitedStates
EventhoughCongresssetupaframeworkfortheuseofthemetricsystemin
thenineteenthcentury,[87][Note17]theUnitedStatescontinuestouseUS
customaryunits,basedonEnglishmeasurepassedbyparliamentunderthe
reignofQueenAnnein1706,formostpurposesapartfromscienceand
medicine.[88]InPuertoRico,metricunitsarewidelyusedduetothevast
majorityofthepopulationhavingSpanishheritage.[89]
On10February1964,theNationalBureauofStandards(nowtheNational
InstituteofStandardsandTechnology)issuedastatementthatitwastouseSI
exceptwherethiswouldhaveanobviousdetrimentaleffect.In1968Congress
authorisedtheU.S.MetricStudytheemphasisofwhichwastoexaminethe
feasibilityofadoptingSI.[90]Thefirstvolumewasdeliveredin1970.[91]The
studyrecommendedthattheUnitedStatesadopttheInternationalSystemof
units,[92]andin1975CongresspassedtheMetricConversionActof1975
whichestablishedanationalpolicyofcoordinatingandplanningforthe
increaseduseofthemetricmeasurementsystemintheUnitedStates.[93]
MetricationwasvoluntaryandtobecoordinatedbytheUnitedStatesMetric
Board(USMB).[94]
EffortsduringtheFordandCarteradministrationstoforcemetricationwere
seizedonbymanynewspapereditorialistsasbeingdictatorial.[5]:365Public
responseincludedresistance,apathy,andsometimesridicule.[95]Theunderlying
reasonsforthisresponseincludearelativeuniformityofweightsandmeasures
(though,notably,USliquidmeasuredifferedbyabout20%fromBritishImperial
measure,whichwasadoptedthroughouttheBritishEmpirein1824)inherited
fromtheUnitedKingdomin1776,ahomogeneouseconomyandtheinfluenceof
businessgroupsandpopulistsinCongresscausedthecountrytolookattheshort
termcostsassociatedwiththechangeover,particularlythosethatwouldbeborne
bytheconsumerratherthanlongtermbenefitsofefficiencyandinternational
trade.TheMetricationBoardwasdisbandedunderPresidentRonaldReagan's
directionin1982.[5]:362365
Bananamarketstallin
Kerala,Indiathetraderis
usinghexagonalweightsa
shapethatisconsistentwith
metricweights,bothin
India[85]and
internationally[62]
LogooftheAmerican
NationalMetrication
Council,anorganisation
setupbyAmerican
NationalStandards
Institute(ANSI)to
coordinatethecountry's
transitiontothemetric
system.
19/27
11/15/2016
The1988OmnibusForeignTradeandCompetitivenessActremovedinternationaltradebarriersandamended
theMetricConversionActof1975,designatingthemetricsystemas"thePreferredsystemofweightsand
measuresforUnitedStatestradeandcommerce".Thelegislationstatedthatthefederalgovernmenthasa
responsibilitytoassistindustry,especiallysmallbusiness,asitvoluntarilyconvertstothemetricsystemof
measurement.[96]ExceptionsweremadeforthehighwayandconstructionindustriestheDepartmentof
Transportationplannedtorequiremetricunitsby2000,butthisplanwascancelledbythe1998highwaybill
TEA21.[97]However,theUSmilitaryusesthemetricsystemwidely,partlybecauseoftheneedtoworkwith
armedservicesfromothernations.[98]Althoughoverallresponsibilityforlabellingrequirementsofconsumer
goodslieswithCongressandisthereforecoveredbyfederallaw,detailsoflabellingrequirementsforcertain
commoditiesarecontrolledbystatelaworbyotherauthoritiessuchastheFoodandDrugAdministration,
EnvironmentalProtectionAgencyandAlcoholandTobaccoTaxandTradeBureau.[99]ThefederalFair
PackagingandLabelingAct(FPLA),originallypassedin1964,wasamendedin1992torequireconsumer
goodsdirectlyunderitsjurisdictiontobelabelledinbothcustomaryandmetricunits.Someindustriesare
engagedineffortstoamendthislawtoallowmanufacturerstouseonlymetriclabelling.[100]TheNational
ConferenceonWeightsandMeasureshasdevelopedtheUniformPackagingandLabelingRegulations(UPLR)
whichprovidesastandardapproachtothosesectionsofpackaginglawthatareunderstatecontrol.Acceptance
oftheUPLRvariesfromstatetostatefourteenstatesacceptitbymerelycitingitintheirlegislation.[101]
Duringthefirstdecadeofthe21stcentury,theEUdirective
80/181/EEChadrequiredthatdualunitlabellingofgoodssoldwithin
theEUceasebytheendof2009.Thiswasbackedupbyrequestsfrom
othernationsincludingJapanandNewZealandtopermitmetriconly
labellingasanaidtotradewiththosecountries.[99]Opinioninthe
UnitedStateswassplitabilltopermitmetriconlylabellingatthe
federallevelwastohavebeenintroducedin2005butsignificant
oppositionfromtheFoodMarketingInstitute,representingUSgrocers,
hasdelayedtheintroductionofthebill.Duringaroutinedecennial
reviewofthedirectivein2008,theEUpostponedthesunsetclausefor
dualunitsindefinitely.
A2010CadillacSRX.AllGeneral
Motorsproductsaredesignedusing
metricunits.
Meanwhile,in1999theUPLRwasamendedtopermitmetriconly
labellingandautomaticallybecamelawinthosestatesthatacceptUPLR"asis".By1January2009,48outof
50statespermitmetriconlylabelling,eitherthroughUPLRorthroughtheirownlegislation.[99]AsofFebruary
2013theuseofmetric(andthereforeSI)unitsintheUnitedStatesdoesnotfollowanypattern.Dualunit
labellingonconsumergoodsismandatory.Someconsumergoodssuchassoftdrinksaresoldinmetric
quantities,butmilkissoldincustomaryunits.Theengineeringindustryisequallysplit.Theautomotive
industryislargelymetric,[102]butaircraftsuchastheBoeing787Dreamlinerweredesignedusingcustomary
units.[103]
Redefinitionofunits
Afterthemetrewasredefinedin1960,thekilogramremainedtheonlySIbaseunitthatreliedonaspecific
physicalartefact,theinternationalprototypeofthekilogram(IPK),foritsdefinitionandthustheonlyunitthat
wasstillsubjecttoperiodiccomparisonsofnationalstandardkilogramswiththeIPK.[104]Afterthe19961998
recalibration,acleardivergencebetweenthevariousprototypekilogramswasobserved.
Atits23rdmeeting,heldin2007,theCGPMrecommendedthattheCIPMshouldcontinuetoinvestigate
methodstoprovideexactfixedvaluesforphysicalconstantsofnaturethatcouldthenbeusedinthedefinitions
ofunitsofmeasureinplaceoftheIPK,thusenablingthetransitionfromexplicitunitdefinitionstoexplicit
constantdefinitions.[105][106]
20/27
11/15/2016
AtameetingoftheCCUheldinReading,UnitedKingdom,in
September2010,aresolutionanddraftchangestotheSIBrochurethat
weretobepresentedtothenextmeetingoftheCIPMinOctober2010
wereagreedtoinprinciple.[107][108]TheproposalsthattheCCUput
forwardwere:
Inadditiontothespeedoflight,fourconstantsofnaturethe
Planckconstant,anelementarycharge,theBoltzmannconstant
andtheAvogadronumberbedefinedtohaveexactvalues.
TheInternationalprototypekilogramberetired
Thecurrentdefinitionsofthekilogram,ampere,kelvinandmole
berevised.
Thewordingofthedefinitionsofallthebaseunitsbeboth
tightenedupandchangedtoreflectthechangeinemphasisfrom
explicitunittoexplicitconstantdefinitions.
TheCIPMmeetingofOctober2010reviewedprogresstowards
establishingfixedvaluesfortheconstantsbutfoundthat"theconditions
setbytheGeneralConferenceatits23rdmeetinghavenotyetbeen
fullymet.ForthisreasontheCIPMdoesnotproposearevisionofthe
SIatthepresenttime".[109]
Dependenciesofthedefinitionsofthe
sevenSIbaseunits.Thedefinitions
ofthesecond,kelvinandkilogram
areindependentofthoseofanyother
unit.
Atthe24thCGPMmeeting,heldinOctober2011,theCIPMsponsored
aresolutioninwhichtherequisitedefinitionchangeswereagreedtoin
principleandinwhichtheconditionsrequiredtobemetbeforethe
redefinitionscouldbeimplementedwererestated.[110]
ByNovember2014theconditionssetoutatthe23rdmeetingofthe
CGPMfortheunitredefinitionshadstillnotbeenmet,andthe25th
meetingoftheCGPM,heldinNovember2014,adoptedasimilar
resolutionencouragingfurtherworktowardsestablishingfixedvalues
forthefundamentalconstants.[111]
Theredefinitionsareexpectedtobeadoptedatthe26thCGPMinthe
fallof2018.[112]TheCODATAtaskgrouponfundamentalconstantshas
announcedspecialsubmissiondeadlinesfordatatocomputethevalues
thatwillbeannouncedatthisevent.[113]
DependenciesofproposedSIunit
definitions(incolour)andseven
physicalconstants(ingrey)with
fixednumericalvalues.Unlikethe
current(2014)definition,thebase
unitsarederivedfromoneormore
constantsofnature.
Seealso
Historyofmeasurement
Listofinternationalcommonstandards
Listofscientificunitsnamedafterpeople
Metretonnesecondsystemofunits
Namesoflargenumbers
Namesofsmallnumbers
Orderofmagnitude
InstituteforReferenceMaterialsand
Measurements
Standardsandconventions
CoordinatedUniversalTime(UTC)
UnifiedCodeforUnitsofMeasure
Organisations
Notes
21/27
11/15/2016
1.Thedifferencesbetween"weight"and"mass"wereonlyformallyqualifiedin1901.
2.The8theditionoftheSIBrochure(2008)notesthat[atthattimeofpublication]theterm"miseenpratique"hadnot
beenfullydefined.
3.Thetext"Descomparaisonspriodiquesdestalonsnationauxaveclesprototypesinternationaux"(English:the
periodiccomparisonsofnationalstandardswiththeinternationalprototypes)inarticle6.3oftheMetreConvention(h
ttp://www.bipm.org/utils/common/documents/official/metreconvention.pdf)distinguishesbetweenthewords
"standard"(OED:"Thelegalmagnitudeofaunitofmeasureorweight"(http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/188962?rsk
ey=CZQ845&result=1#eid))and"prototype"(OED:"anoriginalonwhichsomethingismodelled"(http://www.oed.c
om/view/Entry/153327?rskey=G9OW8z&result=1#eid)).
4.PferdisGermanfor"horse"andstrkeisGermanfor"strength"or"power".ThePferdestrkeisthepowerneededto
raise75kgagainstgravityattherateofonemetrepersecond.(1PS=0.985HP).
5.Thesebodiesinclude:
InternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO)
NationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology(NIST)(UnitedStates)
NationalPhysicalLaboratory(NPL)(British)
InternationalAstronomicalUnion(IAU)
InternationalUnionofPureandAppliedChemistry(IUPAC)
InternationalUnionofPureandAppliedPhysics(IUPAP)
InternationalCommissiononIllumination(CIE)(French:Commissioninternationaledel'clairage)
CommitteeonDataforScienceandTechnology(CODATA)aninterdisciplinarycommitteeofthe
InternationalCouncilforScience.
InternationalCommissiononRadiationUnitsandMeasurements(ICRU)
InternationalFederationofClinicalChemistryandLaboratoryMedicine(IFCC)
InternationalElectrotechnicalCommission(IEC)
InternationalOrganizationofLegalMetrology(OIML)(French:OrganisationInternationaledeMtrologie
Lgale)
NationalInstituteofAdvancedIndustrialScienceandTechnology(AIST)(Japan)
NationalInstituteforNaturalandEngineeringSciences(PTB)(Germany)(German:PhysikalischTechnische
Bundesanstalt)
FederalAgencyonTechnicalRegulatingandMetrology
6.ThisgroupingandthereferencetoTables6,7,8,and9reflectsthe2014revisionofthe8thEditionoftheSI
Brochure(2006)
7.TheCGPMhavedefinedthemetreintermsofthespeedoflight,sothespeedoflighthasanexactvalue.
8.Forexample,theAcadmiefranaiseinthecaseofFrenchorCouncilforGermanOrthography(German:Ratfr
deutscheRechtschreibung)inthecaseofGerman
9.Exceptwherespecificallynoted,theserulesarecommontoboththeSIBrochureandtheNISTbrochure.
10.Thistermisatranslationoftheofficial[French]textoftheSIBrochure
11.TheCGPMhasdefinedthemetreintermsofthespeedoflight,sothespeedoflighthasanexactvalue.
12.ThesecountriesincludedtheCommonwealthcountries(excludingIndia),Ireland,Burma,Liberia,Iraq,Kuwait,
SaudiArabia,NepalandEthiopia
13.Inthecontextofthisarticle,theword"Empire"excludestheUnitedStates.
14.Angularunits:degree,minuteandsecond,Unitsoftime:day,minute
15.Theunitsthatmadeuseoftheaccelerationduetogravityintheirdefinitionsincludedthekilogramforce/kilopond,
torr,technicalatmosphere,manometricunitsofpressuresuchasmetresofwaterandmillimetresofmercury
16.ThemillimetreofmercuryforbloodpressureisonecataloguedinTable8ofSIBrochure.
17.Useofthemetricsystemwaslegalisedin1866,theMetreConventionwassignedin1875andin1893the
MendenhallOrderdefinedthepoundandtheyardintermsofthekilogramandmetrerespectively
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105.Newell,DavidB."AmorefundamentalInternationalSystemofUnits"(PDF).PhysicsToday.Retrieved30November
2014.
106.Mills,Ian(SeptemberOctober2011)."PartIIExplicitConstantDefinitionsfortheKilogramandfortheMole".
ChemistryInternational.33(5):1215.ISSN01936484.
107.Mills,Ian(29September2010)."OnthepossiblefuturerevisionoftheInternationalSystemofUnits,theSI"(PDF).
CCU.Retrieved1January2011.
108.Mills,Ian(29September2010)."DraftChapter2forSIBrochure,followingredefinitionsofthebaseunits"(PDF).
CCU.Retrieved1January2011.
109."Towardsthe"newSI" ".InternationalBureauofWeightsandMeasures(BIPM).Retrieved20February2011.
110.Resolution1OnthepossiblefuturerevisionoftheInternationalSystemofUnits,theSI(PDF).24thmeetingofthe
GeneralConferenceonWeightsandMeasures.Svres,France.1721October2011.Retrieved25October2011.
111.Resolution1ofthe25thCGPM(2014).25thmeetingoftheGeneralConferenceonWeightsandMeasures.Svres,
France.1820November2014.
112.Wood,B.(34November2014)."ReportontheMeetingoftheCODATATaskGrouponFundamentalConstants"
(PDF).BIPM.p.7."[BIPMdirectorMartin]Miltonrespondedtoaquestionaboutwhatwouldhappenif...theCIPM
ortheCGPMvotednottomoveforwardwiththeredefinitionoftheSI.Herespondedthathefeltthatbythattimethe
decisiontomoveforwardshouldbeseenasaforegoneconclusion."
113.Mohr,PeterJ.Newell,DavidB.Taylor,BarryN.(2015)."CODATArecommendedvaluesofthefundamental
physicalconstants:2014Summary".Zenodo.doi:10.5281/zenodo.22827."Becauseofthegoodprogressmadein
bothexperimentandtheorysincethe31December2010closingdateofthe2010CODATAadjustment,the
uncertaintiesofthe2014recommendedvaluesofh,e,kandNAarealreadyatthelevelrequiredfortheadoptionof
therevisedSIbythe26thCGPMinthefallof2018.Theformalroadmaptoredefinitionincludesaspecial
CODATAadjustmentofthefundamentalconstantswithaclosingdatefornewdataof1July2017inorderto
determinetheexactnumericalvaluesofh,e,kandNAthatwillbeusedtodefinetheNewSI.AsecondCODATA
adjustmentwithaclosingdateof1July2018willbecarriedoutsothatacompletesetofrecommendedvalues
consistentwiththeNewSIwillbeavailablewhenitisformallyadoptedbythe26thCGPM."
Furtherreading
InternationalUnionofPureandAppliedChemistry(1993).Quantities,UnitsandSymbolsinPhysical
Chemistry,2ndedition,Oxford:BlackwellScience.ISBN0632035838.Electronicversion.(http://old.
iupac.org/publications/books/gbook/green_book_2ed.pdf)
UnitSystemsinElectromagnetism(http://info.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Workshop/advice/coils/unit_systems/#rms)
MWKelleretal.(http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=32943)MetrologyTriangleUsing
aWattBalance,aCalculableCapacitor,andaSingleElectronTunnelingDevice
"TheCurrentSISeenFromthePerspectiveoftheProposedNewSI"(http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/jre
s/116/6/V116.N06.A01.pdf).BarryN.Taylor.JournalofResearchoftheNationalInstituteofStandards
andTechnology,Vol.116,No.6,Pgs.797807,NovDec2011.
B.N.Taylor,AmblerThompson,InternationalSystemofUnits(SI),NationalInstituteofStandardsand
Technology2008edition,ISBN1437915582.
Externallinks
Official
WikimediaCommonshas
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11/15/2016
mediarelatedto
BIPMBureauInternationaldesPoidsetMesures(SImaintenance
InternationalSystemof
agency)(http://www.bipm.org/en/measurementunits/)(home
Units.
page)
BIPMbrochure(http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/)
(SIreference)
ISO800001:2009QuantitiesandunitsPart1:General(http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogu
e_ics/catalogue_detail_ics.htm?csnumber=30669)
NISTOfficialPublications(http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/bibliography.html)
NISTSpecialPublication330,2008Edition:TheInternationalSystemofUnits(SI)(http://physic
s.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf)
NISTSpecialPublication811,2008Edition:GuidefortheUseoftheInternationalSystemof
Units(http://www.nist.gov/pml/pubs/sp811/index.cfm)
NISTSpecialPub814:InterpretationoftheSIfortheUnitedStatesandFederalGovernment
MetricConversionPolicy(http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/metric/upload/NISTSP814FederalMet
ricPolicy1998.pdf)
RulesforSAEUseofSI(Metric)Units(http://www.sae.org/standardsdev/tsb/tsb003.pdf)
InternationalSystemofUnits(https://www.dmoz.org/Science/Reference/Units_of_Measurement/)at
DMOZ
EngNetMetricConversionChart(http://www.engnetglobal.com/tips/convert.aspx)OnlineCategorised
MetricConversionCalculator
U.S.MetricAssociation.2008.APracticalGuidetotheInternationalSystemofUnits(http://lamar.colost
ate.edu/~hillger/pdf/Practical_Guide_to_the_SI.pdf)
History
LaTeXSIunitspackagemanual(ftp://www.ctan.org/texarchive/macros/latex/contrib/SIunits/SIunits.pdf)
givesahistoricalbackgroundtotheSIsystem.
Research
Themetrologicaltriangle(http://www.npl.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.1835)
RecommendationofICWM1(CI2005)(http://www.bipm.org/cc/CIPM/Allowed/94/CIPMRecom1CI2
005EN.pdf)
Prometricadvocacygroups
TheUKMetricAssociation(http://www.ukma.org.uk/)
TheUSMetricAssociation(http://www.metric.org/)
Procustomarymeasurespressuregroups
Procustomarymeasuresgroups(https://www.dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Government_Operations/AntiMe
trication/)atDMOZ
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title=International_System_of_Units&oldid=745734775"
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11/15/2016

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