[VIM3] 1.16 International System of Units

SI
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system of units, based on the International System of Quantities, their names and symbols, including a series of prefixes and their names and symbols, together with rules for their use, adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM)

Notes

NOTE 1 The SI is founded on the seven base quantities of the ISQ and the names and symbols of the corresponding base units that are contained in the following table.

Base quantity
Grandeur de base

Base unit
Unité de base

Name
Nom

Name
Nom

Symbol
Symbole

length
longueur

metre
mètre

m

mass
masse

kilogram
kilogramme

kg

time
temps

second
seconde

s

electric current
courant électrique

ampere
ampère

A

thermodynamic temperature
température thermodynamique

kelvin
kelvin

K

amount of substance
quantité de matière

mole
mole

mol

luminous intensity
intensité lumineuse

candela
candela

cd

NOTE 2 The base units and the coherent derived units of the SI form a coherent set, designated the “set of coherent SI units”.

NOTE 3 For a full description and explanation of the International System of Units, see the current edition of the SI brochure published by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) and available on the BIPM website.

NOTE 4 In quantity calculus, the quantity 'number of entities' is often considered to be a base quantity, with the base unit one, symbol 1.

NOTE 5 The SI prefixes for multiples of units and submultiples of units are:

Factor
Facteur

Prefix
Prefixe

Name
Nom

Symbol
Symbole

1024

yotta
yotta

Y

1021

zetta
zetta

Z

1018

exa
exa

E

1015

peta
péta

P

1012

tera
téra

T

109

giga
giga

G

106

mega
méga

M

103

kilo
kilo

k

102

hecto
hecto

h

101

deca
déca

da

10-1

deci
déci

d

10-2

centi
centi

c

10-3

milli
milli

m

10-6

micro
micro

µ

10-9

nano
nano

n

10-12

pico
pico

p

10-15

femto
femto

f

10-18

atto
atto

a

10-21

zepto
zepto

z

10-24

yocto
yocto

y

Contents

Contents

2 Measurement