Introduction

This is a brief summary of the SI, the modern metric system of

measurement. Long the language universally used in science, the SI has
become the dominant language of international commerce and trade.
These "essentials" are adapted from NIST Special Publication 811 (SP
811), prepared by B. N. Taylor and entitled Guide for the Use of the
International System of Units (SI), and NIST Special Publication 330 (SP
330), edited by B. N. Taylor and entitledThe International System of Units
(SI). Users requiring more detailed information may access SP 811 and SP
330 online from the Bibliography, or order SP 811 for postal delivery.
Information regarding the adoption and maintenance of the SI may be found
in the section International aspects of the SI.

Some useful definitions

A quantity in the general sense is a property ascribed to phenomena,
bodies, or substances that can be quantified for, or assigned to, a particular
phenomenon, body, or substance. Examples are mass and electric charge.

A quantity in the particular sense is a quantifiable or assignable property

ascribed to a particular phenomenon, body, or substance. Examples are the
mass of the moon and the electric charge of the proton.

A physical quantity is a quantity that can be used in the mathematical

equations of science and technology.

A unit is a particular physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention,

with which other particular quantities of the same kind are compared to
express their value.

The value of a physical quantity is the quantitative expression of a

particular physical quantity as the product of a number and a unit, the
number being its numerical value. Thus, the numerical value of a particular
physical quantity depends on the unit in which it is
expressed.

For example, the value of the height hW of the

Washington Monument ishW = 169 m = 555
ft. Here hW is the physical quantity, its value
expressed in the unit "meter," unit symbol m, is
169 m, and its numerical value when expressed in meters is 169. However,
the value of hW expressed in the unit "foot," symbol ft, is 555 ft, and its
numerical value when expressed in feet is 555.
Continue to SI units

Return to
Units
SI base units
home page
The SI is founded on seven SI base units for seven base
Units quantities assumed to be mutually independent, as given in
Topics:
Table 1.
Introduction
Units Table 1. SI base units
Prefixes
SI base unit
Outside
Base quantity Name Symbol
Rules
length meter m
Background
mass kilogram kg
Units time second s
Bibliography
electric current ampere A
Constants, thermodynamic temperature kelvin K
Units &
Uncertainty amount of substance mole mol
home page luminous intensity candela cd

For detailed information on the SI base units, see Definitions

of the SI base units and their Historical context.

SI derived units
Other quantities, called derived quantities, are defined in
terms of the seven base quantities via a system of quantity
equations. The SI derived units for these derived quantities
are obtained from these equations and the seven SI base
units. Examples of such SI derived units are given in Table
2, where it should be noted that the symbol 1 for quantities of
dimension 1 such as mass fraction is generally omitted.
 Table 2. Examples of SI derived units
SI derived unit
Derived quantity Name Symbol
area square meter m2
volume cubic meter m3
speed, velocity meter per second m/s
meter per second
acceleration m/s2
squared
wave number reciprocal meter m-1
mass density kilogram per cubic meter kg/m3
specific volume cubic meter per kilogram m3/kg
current density ampere per square meter A/m2
magnetic field strength ampere per meter A/m
amount-of-substance
mole per cubic meter mol/m3
concentration
luminance candela per square meter cd/m2
kilogram per kilogram,
which may be kg/kg =
mass fraction
represented by the 1
number 1
For ease of understanding and convenience, 22 SI derived units
have been given special names and symbols, as shown in
Table 3.
Table 3. SI derived units with special names and
symbols
SI derived unit
Expression
in terms of Expression
Derived other SI in terms of
quantity Name Symbol units SI base units
plane angle radian (a) rad - m·m-1 = 1 (b)
solid angle steradian (a) sr (c) - m2·m-2 = 1 (b)
frequency hertz Hz - s-1
force newton N - m·kg·s-2
pressure,
pascal Pa N/m2 m-1·kg·s-2
stress
energy,
work,
joule J N·m m2·kg·s-2
quantity of
heat
power, watt W J/s m2·kg·s-3
 Table 3. SI derived units with special names and
symbols
radiant flux
electric
charge,
coulomb C - s·A
quantity of
electricity
electric
potential
difference, volt V W/A m2·kg·s-3·A-1
electromotive
force
capacitance farad F C/V m-2·kg-1·s4·A2
electric
ohm V/A m2·kg·s-3·A-2
resistance
electric
siemens S A/V m-2·kg-1·s3·A2
conductance
magnetic
weber Wb V·s m2·kg·s-2·A-1
flux
magnetic
tesla T Wb/m2 kg·s-2·A-1
flux density
inductance henry H Wb/A m2·kg·s-2·A-2
Celsius degree
°C - K
temperature Celsius
luminous
lumen lm cd·sr (c) m2·m-2·cd = cd
flux
illuminance lux lx lm/m2 m2·m-4·cd = m-2·cd
activity (of a
becquerel Bq - s-1
radionuclide)
absorbed
dose, specific
energy gray Gy J/kg m2·s-2
(imparted),
kerma
dose
sievert Sv J/kg m2·s-2
equivalent (d)
catalytic
katal kat s-1·mol
activity
(a)
The radian and steradian may be used advantageously in expressions for derived
units to distinguish between quantities of a different nature but of the same
dimension; some examples are given in Table 4.
(b)
In practice, the symbols rad and sr are used where appropriate, but the derived
unit "1" is generally omitted.
(c)
In photometry, the unit name steradian and the unit symbol sr are usually retained
in expressions for derived units.
 Table 3. SI derived units with special names and
symbols
(d)
Other quantities expressed in sieverts are ambient dose equivalent, directional
dose equivalent, personal dose equivalent, and organ equivalent dose.

For a graphical illustration of how the 22 derived units with

special names and symbols given in Table 3 are related to the
seven SI base units, seerelationships among SI units.

Note on degree Celsius. The derived unit in Table 3 with

the special name degree Celsius and special symbol °C
deserves comment. Because of the way temperature
scales used to be defined, it remains common practice to
express a thermodynamic temperature, symbol T, in
terms of its difference from the reference temperature T0 =
273.15 K, the ice point. This temperature difference is
called a Celsius temperature, symbol t, and is defined by
the quantity equation

t= T- T0.

The unit of Celsius temperature is the degree Celsius,

symbol °C. The numerical value of a Celsius
temperature t expressed in degrees Celsius is given by

t/°C = T/K - 273.15.

It follows from the definition of t that the degree Celsius is

equal in magnitude to the kelvin, which in turn implies that
the numerical value of a given temperature difference or
temperature interval whose value is expressed in the unit
degree Celsius (°C) is equal to the numerical value of the
same difference or interval when its value is expressed in
the unit kelvin (K). Thus, temperature differences or
temperature intervals may be expressed in either the
degree Celsius or the kelvin using the same numerical
value. For example, the Celsius temperature difference
t and the thermodynamic temperature difference
T between the melting point of gallium and the triple point
of water may be written as t = 29.7546 °C = T =
29.7546 K.

The special names and symbols of the 22 SI derived units with

special names and symbols given in Table 3 may themselves be
included in the names and symbols of other SI derived units, as
shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Examples of SI derived units whose names
and symbols include SI derived units with special
names and symbols
SI derived unit
Derived quantity Name Symbol
dynamic viscosity pascal second Pa·s
moment of force newton meter N·m
surface tension newton per meter N/m
angular velocity radian per second rad/s
angular acceleration radian per second squared rad/s2
heat flux density, irradiance watt per square meter W/m2
heat capacity, entropy joule per kelvin J/K
specific heat capacity, specific
joule per kilogram kelvin J/(kg·K)
entropy
specific energy joule per kilogram J/kg
thermal conductivity watt per meter kelvin W/(m·K)
energy density joule per cubic meter J/m3
electric field strength volt per meter V/m
electric charge density coulomb per cubic meter C/m3
electric flux density coulomb per square meter C/m2
permittivity farad per meter F/m
permeability henry per meter H/m
molar energy joule per mole J/mol
molar entropy, molar heat
joule per mole kelvin J/(mol·K)
capacity
exposure (x and rays) coulomb per kilogram C/kg
absorbed dose rate gray per second Gy/s
radiant intensity watt per steradian W/sr
watt per square meter
radiance W/(m2·sr)
steradian
catalytic (activity)
katal per cubic meter kat/m3
concentration

Continue to SI prefixes
 Return to
Units SI prefixes
home page See also prefixes for binary multiples adopted by the
IEC.

Units The 20 SI prefixes used to form decimal multiples and

Topics: submultiples of SI units are given in Table 5.
Introduction
Units Table 5. SI prefixes
Prefixes Factor Name Symbol Factor Name Symbol
Outside 1024 yotta Y 10-1 deci d
Rules 10 21
zetta Z 10 -2
centi c
Background 10 18
exa E 10 -3
milli m
15 -6
Units 10 peta P 10 micro µ
Bibliography 10 12
tera T 10 -9
nano n
9 -12
Constants, 10 giga G 10 pico p
Units & 10 6
mega M 10 -15
femto f
Uncertainty
3 -18
home page 10 kilo k 10 atto a
2 -21
10 hecto h 10 zepto z
1 -24
10 deka da 10 yocto y

It is important to note that the kilogram is the only SI unit with

a prefix as part of its name and symbol. Because multiple
prefixes may not be used, in the case of the kilogram the
prefix names of Table 5 are used with the unit name "gram"
and the prefix symbols are used with the unit symbol "g."
With this exception, any SI prefix may be used with any SI
unit, including the degree Celsius and its symbol °C.

Example 1:10-6 kg = 1 mg (one milligram), but not 10-6 kg =

1 µkg (one microkilogram)
Example 2:Consider the earlier example of the height of the
Washington Monument. We may writehW = 169
000 mm = 16 900 cm = 169 m = 0.169 km using
the millimeter (SI prefix milli, symbol m),
centimeter (SI prefix centi, symbol c), or
kilometer (SI prefix kilo, symbol k).
 Because the SI prefixes strictly represent powers of 10, they
should not be used to represent powers of 2. Thus, one
kilobit, or 1 kbit, is 1000 bit and not210 bit = 1024 bit. To
alleviate this ambiguity, prefixes for binary multiples have
been adopted by the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) for use in information technology.

Continue to Units outside the SI

Return to
Units
Units outside the SI
home page
Certain units are not part of the International System of
Units Units, that is, they are outside the SI, but are important and
Topics:
widely used. Consistent with the recommendations of the
Introduction International Committee for Weights and Measures
Units (CIPM, Comité International des Poids et Mesures), the units
Prefixes in this category that are accepted for use with the SI are
Outside given in Table 6.
Rules
Background Table 6. Units outside the SI that are accepted
for use with the SI
Units
Bibliography Name Symbol Value in SI units
Constants, minute (time) min 1 min = 60 s
Units & hour h 1 h = 60 min = 3600 s
Uncertainty
home page day d 1 d = 24 h = 86 400 s
degree (angle) ° 1° = ( /180) rad
minute (angle) 1 = (1/60)° = ( /10 800) rad
second (angle) 1 = (1/60) = ( /648 000)
 rad
liter L 1 L = 1 dm3 = 10-3 m3
metric ton (a) t 1 t = 103 kg
neper Np 1 Np = 1
bel (b) B 1 B = (1/2) ln 10 Np (c)
1 eV = 1.602 18 x 10-19 J,
electronvolt (d) eV
approximately
unified atomic mass 1 u = 1.660 54 x 10-27 kg,
u
unit (e) approximately
1 ua = 1.495 98 x 1011 m,
astronomical unit (f) ua
approximately
(a)
In many countries, this unit is called "tonne.''
(b)
The bel is most commonly used with the SI prefix deci: 1 dB = 0.1 B.
(c)
Although the neper is coherent with SI units and is accepted by the CIPM, it
has not been adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures
(CGPM, Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures) and is thus not an SI unit.
(d)
The electronvolt is the kinetic energy acquired by an electron passing through
a potential difference of 1 V in vacuum. The value must be obtained by
experiment, and is therefore not known exactly.
(e)
The unified atomic mass unit is equal to 1/12 of the mass of an unbound atom
of the nuclide 12C, at rest and in its ground state. The value must be obtained by
experiment, and is therefore not known exactly.
(f)
The astronomical unit is a unit of length. Its value is such that, when used to
describe the motion of bodies in the solar system, the heliocentric gravitation
constant is (0.017 202 098 95)2 ua3·d-2. The value must be obtained by
experiment, and is therefore not known exactly.
The liter in Table 6 deserves comment. This unit and its
symbol l were adopted by the CIPM in 1879. The alternative
symbol for the liter, L, was adopted by the CGPM in 1979 in
order to avoid the risk of confusion between the letter l and
the number 1. Thus, although both l and L are internationally
accepted symbols for the liter, to avoid this risk the preferred
symbol for use in the United States is L. Neither a lowercase
script letter l nor an uppercase script letter L are approved
symbols for the liter.

Other units outside the SI that are currently accepted for use
with the SI by NIST are given in Table 7. These units, which
are subject to future review, should be defined in relation to
the SI in every document in which they are used; their
continued use is not encouraged. The CIPM currently
accepts the use of all of the units given in Table 7 with the SI
except for the curie, roentgen, rad, and rem. Because of the
continued wide use of these units in the United States, NIST
still accepts their use with the SI.

Table 7. Other units outside the SI that are

currently accepted for use with the SI, subject to
further review
Name Symbol Value in SI units
nautical mile 1 nautical mile = 1852 m
1 nautical mile per hour =
knot
(1852/3600) m/s
are a 1 a = 1 dam2 = 102 m2
hectare ha 1 ha = 1 hm2 = 104 m2
1 bar = 0.1 MPa = 100 kPa = 1000
bar bar
hPa = 105 Pa
ångström Å 1 Å = 0.1 nm = 10-10 m
barn b 1 b = 100 fm2 = 10-28 m2
curie Ci 1 Ci = 3.7 x 1010 Bq
roentgen R 1 R = 2.58 x 10-4 C/kg
rad rad 1 rad = 1 cGy = 10-2 Gy
rem rem 1 rem = 1 cSv = 10-2 Sv

Continue to Rules and style conventions