A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention

and/or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same physical quantity. Any other value
of the physical quantity can be expressed as a simple multiple of the unit of measurement.

For example, length is a physical quantity. The metre is a unit of length that represents a definite
predetermined length. When we say 10 metres (or 10 m), we actually mean 10 times the definite
predetermined length called "metre".

The definition, agreement, and practical use of units of measurement have played a crucial role in human
endeavour from early ages up to this day. Different systems of units used to be very common. Now there
is a global standard, the International System of Units (SI), the modern form of the metric system.

In trade, weights and measures is often a subject of governmental regulation, to ensure fairness and
transparency. The Bureau international des poids et mesures (BIPM) is tasked with ensuring worldwide
uniformity of measurements and their traceability to the International System of Units (SI). Metrology is
the science for developing nationally and internationally accepted units of weights and measures.

In physics and metrology, units are standards for measurement of physical quantities that need clear
definitions to be useful. Reproducibility of experimental results is central to the scientific method. A
standard system of units facilitates this. Scientific systems of units are a refinement of the concept of
weights and measures developed long ago for commercial purposes.

Science, medicine, and engineering often use larger and smaller units of measurement than those used
in everyday life and indicate them more precisely. The judicious selection of the units of measurement
can aid researchers in problem solving (see, for example, dimensional analysis).

In the social sciences, there are no standard units of measurement and the theory and practice of
measurement is studied in psychometrics and the theory of conjoint measurement.
SI base units
The SI is founded on seven SI base units for seven base quantities assumed
to be mutually independent, as given in Table 1.

Table 1. SI base units

SI base unit

Base quantity Name Symbol

length meter m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
electric current ampere A
thermodynamic temperature kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol
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
acceleration meter per second squared m/s2
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 concentration mole per cubic meter mol/m3
luminance candela per square meter cd/m2
kilogram per kilogram, which
mass fraction may be represented by the kg/kg = 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 Expression
in terms of in terms of
Derived quantity Name Symbol other SI 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, stress pascal Pa N/m2 m-1·kg·s-2
energy, work, quantity of heat joule J N·m m2·kg·s-2
power, radiant flux watt W J/s m2·kg·s-3
electric charge, quantity of
coulomb C - s·A
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 resistance ohm V/A m2·kg·s-3·A-2
electric conductance siemens S A/V m-2·kg-1·s3·A2
magnetic flux weber Wb V·s m2·kg·s-2·A-1
magnetic flux density tesla T Wb/m2 kg·s-2·A-1
inductance henry H Wb/A m2·kg·s-2·A-2
degree
Celsius temperature °C - K
Celsius
luminous flux lumen lm cd·sr (c) m2·m-2·cd = cd
illuminance lux lx lm/m2 m2·m-4·cd = m-2·cd
activity (of a radionuclide) becquerel Bq - s-1
absorbed dose, specific energy
gray Gy J/kg m2·s-2
(imparted), kerma
dose equivalent (d) sievert Sv J/kg m2·s-2
catalytic activity katal kat s-1·mol
(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.
(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 entropy joule per kilogram kelvin J/(kg·K)
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 capacity joule per mole kelvin J/(mol·K)
exposure (x and rays) coulomb per kilogram C/kg
absorbed dose rate gray per second Gy/s
radiant intensity watt per steradian W/sr
radiance watt per square meter steradian W/(m2·sr)
catalytic (activity) concentration katal per cubic meter kat/m3
The 20 SI prefixes used to form decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units
are given in Table 5.

Table 5. SI prefixes

Factor Name Symbol Factor Name Symbol

1024 yotta Y 10-1 deci d
1021 zetta Z 10 -2
centi c
1018 exa E 10 -3
milli m
1015 peta P 10 -6
micro µ
1012 tera T 10 -9
nano n
109 giga G 10 -12
pico p
6 -15
10 mega M 10 femto f
3 -18
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 write hW = 169 000 mm = 16 900 cm = 169 m = 0.169 kmusing
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.
Units outside the SI
Certain units are not part of the International System of Units, that is, they are
outside the SI, but are important and widely used. Consistent with the
recommendations of the International Committee for Weights and Measures
(CIPM, Comité International des Poids et Mesures), the units in this category
that are accepted for use with the SI are given in Table 6.

Table 6. Units outside the SI that are accepted for use with the SI

Name Symbol Value in SI units

minute (time) min 1 min = 60 s
hour h 1 h = 60 min = 3600 s
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
(b)
bel B 1 B = (1/2) ln 10 Np (c)
electronvolt (d) eV 1 eV = 1.602 18 x 10-19 J, approximately
unified atomic mass unit (e) u 1 u = 1.660 54 x 10-27 kg, approximately
astronomical unit (f) ua 1 ua = 1.495 98 x 1011 m, 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) 2ua3·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
knot 1 nautical mile per hour = (1852/3600) m/s
are a 1 a = 1 dam2 = 102 m2
hectare ha 1 ha = 1 hm2 = 104 m2
bar bar 1 bar = 0.1 MPa = 100 kPa = 1000 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