SI base unit
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The SI system of units defines seven SI base units: physical units defined by an operational definition.
All other physical units can be derived from these base units: these are known as SI derived units. Derivation is by dimensional analysis. Use SI prefixes to abbreviate long numbers.
The following are the base units from which all others are derived. They are dimensionally independent, with the exception of the candela. The candela was formerly a fundamental unit but has been redefined in terms of the other SI base units. Despite this, it is still considered a base unit for historical reasons.
| Name | Symbol | Measure | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| kilogram | kg | Mass | platinum-iridium cylinder) kept at the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), Sèvres, Paris (1st CGPM (1889), CR 34-38). Note that the kilogram is the only base unit with a SI prefix>prefix; the gram is defined as a derived unit, equal to 1/1000 of a kilogram; prefixes such as mega are applied to the gram, not the kg; e.g. Gg, not Mkg. It is also the only unit still defined by a physical prototype instead of a measurable natural phenomenon. See the kilogram article for an alternative definition. |
| second | s | Time | The unit of time is the duration of exactly 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom at a temperature of 0 K. Defined by: 13th CGPM (1967-1968) Resolution 1, CR 103 |
| metre or meter | m | Length | The unit of length is equal to the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum during the time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second. Defined by: 17th CGPM (1983) Resolution 1, CR 97 |
| ampere | A | Electrical current | conductors, of infinite length and negligible cross-section, placed 1 metre apart in a vacuum, would produce a force between these conductors equal to 2×10 −7 newtons per metre of length. Defined by: 9th CGPM (1948) Resolution 7, CR 70 |
| kelvin | K | Thermodynamic temperature | triple point of water. Defined by: 13th CGPM (1967) Resolution 4, CR 104 |
| mole | mol | Quantity of matter (mass/mass) | atoms, molecules, ions, electrons or Particle physics>particles, depending on the substance) as there are atoms in 0.012 kilograms of pure carbon-12; this number (NA) is approximately equal to 6.02214199×1023. Defined by: 14th CGPM (1971) Resolution 3, CR 78 |
| candela | cd | Luminous intensity | monochromatic radiation of frequency 540×1012 hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian. Defined by: 16th CGPM (1979) Resolution 3, CR 100 |
See also
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