Definition:SI Units
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Definition
The SI Units are the elements of the International System of Units.
SI Base Units
Name | Unit symbol | Dimension | Symbol |
---|---|---|---|
metre | $\mathrm m$ | $\mathsf L$: Length | $l$ |
kilogram | $\mathrm {kg}$ | $\mathsf M$: Mass | $m$ |
second | $\mathrm s$ | $\mathsf T$: Time | $t$ |
ampere | $\mathrm A$ | $\mathsf I$: Electric Current | $I$ |
kelvin | $\mathrm K$ | $\Theta$: Temperature | $T$ |
candela | $\mathrm {cd}$ | $\mathsf J$: Luminous Intensity | $I_v$ |
mole | $\mathrm {mol}$ | $\mathsf N$: Amount of Substance | $n$ |
SI Derived Units
The units derived from the SI base units include the following:
Square metre: | \(\displaystyle \mathrm m^2 \) | |||||||
Cubic metre: | \(\displaystyle \mathrm m^3 \) | |||||||
Newton: | \(\displaystyle \mathrm {kg} \, \mathrm m \, \mathrm s^{-2} \) | |||||||
Coulomb: | \(\displaystyle \mathrm A \, \mathrm s \) |
Also see
Historical Note
The SI units originated in the work done by Joseph Louis Lagrange to establish a decimal system for weights and measures.
Linguistic Note
The abbreviation SI in the term SI units is from the French Le Système International d'Unités (the International System of Units).
Sources
- 1990: I.S. Grant and W.R. Phillips: Electromagnetism (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $1$: Force and energy in electrostatics: $1.1$ Electric Charge
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: SI units