SI base unit

The seven SI base units and the interdependency of their definitions: for example, to extract the definition of the metre from the speed of light, the definition of the second must be known while the ampere and candela are both dependent on the definition of energy which in turn is defined in terms of length, mass and time.

The Système International d’Unités (SI), or International System of Units, defines seven units of measure as a basic set from which all other SI units are derived. The SI base units and their physical quantities are:

• metre for length
• kilogram for mass
• second for time
• ampere for electric current
• kelvin for temperature
• candela for luminous intensity
• mole for the amount of substance.

The SI base quantities form a set of mutually independent dimensions as required by dimensional analysis commonly employed in science and technology. However, in a given realization in these units they may well be interdependent, i.e. defined in terms of each other.

The names and symbols of SI base units are written in lowercase (e.g. metre (US English: meter) has the symbol m), except the symbols of those named after persons which are written with an initial capital letter (i.e., the kelvin after Lord Kelvin has the symbol K and the ampere after André-Marie Ampère has the symbol A).

Many other units, such as the litre (US English: liter), are formally not part of the SI, but are accepted for use with SI.

The seven SI base units

Proposed redefinitions

Proposed SI System: Dependence of base unit definitions on physical constants with fixed values and on other base units that are derived from the same set of constants.

There have been several modifications to the definitions of the base units, and additions of base units, since the Metre Convention in 1875. Since the redefinition of the metre in 1960, the kilogram is the only unit which is directly defined in terms of a physical artifact rather than a property of nature. However, the mole, the ampere and the candela are also linked through their definitions to the mass of this platinum–iridium cylinder stored in a vault near Paris. It has long been an objective of metrology to find a way to define the kilogram in terms of a fundamental constant, in the same way that the metre is now defined in terms of the speed of light.

The 21st General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM, 1999) placed these efforts on an official footing, and recommended "that national laboratories continue their efforts to refine experiments that link the unit of mass to fundamental or atomic constants with a view to a future redefinition of the kilogram." Two main possibilities have attracted attention: the Planck constant and the Avogadro constant.

In 2005, the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) approved the preparation of new definitions for the kilogram, the ampere, and the kelvin and it noted the possibility of a new definition for the mole based on the Avogadro constant.^[2] The 23rd CGPM (2007) decided to postpone any formal change until the next General Conference in 2011.^[3]

In a note to the CIPM in October 2009,^[4] Ian Mills, the President of the CIPM Consultative Committee - Units (CCU) cataloged the uncertainties of the fundamental constants of physics according to the current definitions and their values under the proposed new definition. He urged the CIPM to accept the proposed changes in the definition of the kilogram, ampere, kelvin and mole so that they are referenced to the values of the fundamental constants, namely Planck's constant (h), the electron charge (e), Boltzmann's constant (k), and Avogadro's constant (N_A).^[5]

See also

• International Vocabulary of Metrology
• International System of Quantities
• International System of Units (SI)
• SI derived unit
• Non-SI units mentioned in the SI
• Metric prefix
• Physical constant
• Electric constant
• Magnetic constant
• Speed of light

References

External links

• BIPM
• National Physical Laboratory
• NIST -SI

SI units Base units ampere candela kelvin kilogram metre mole second Derived units with special names becquerel coulomb degree Celsius farad gray henry hertz joule katal lumen lux newton ohm pascal radian siemens sievert steradian tesla volt watt weber Other accepted units astronomical unit dalton day decibel degree Celsius degree of arc electronvolt hectare hour litre minute minute of arc neper second of arc tonne atomic units natural units See also Conversion of units History of the metric system Metric prefixes Proposed redefinitions Systems of measurement Book Category Outline

SI base quantities Base quantity Quantity SI unit Name Symbol Dimension symbol Unit name (symbol) Example length l, x, r, (etc.) L metre (m) r = 10 m mass m M kilogram (kg) m = 10 kg time, duration t T second (s) t = 10 s electric current  I , i  I  ampere (A) I = 10 A thermodynamic temperature T Θ kelvin (K) T = 10 K amount of substance n N mole (mol) n = 10 mol luminous intensity Iv J candela (cd) Iv = 10 cd Specification The quantity (not the unit) can have a specification: Tmax = 300 K Derived quantity Definition A quantity Q is expressed in the base quantities: Q =f\left(\mathit{l, m, t, I, T, n, I}\mathrm{_v}\right) Derived dimension dim Q = La · Mb · Tc · Id · Θe · Nf · Jg (Superscripts a–g are algebraic exponents, usually a positive, negative or zero integer.) Example Quantity acceleration = l1 · t−2, dim acceleration = L1 · T−2 possible units: m1 · s−2, km1 · Ms−2, etc. See also History of the metric system International System of Quantities Proposed redefinitions Systems of measurement Book Category Outline