OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT - COURSE A

The International System of Units (SI)

(from: www.nist.gov)

The International System of Units, universally abbreviated SI (from the French: Le

Système International d’Unités), is the modern metric system of measurement. Long
the dominant system used in science, the SI is rapidly becoming the dominant
measurement system used in international commerce.

Quantities and units

A quantity is a quantifiable or assignable property ascribed to a particular

phenomenon, body, or substance. For example the speed of a car.
A physical quantity is a quantity that can be used in the mathematical equations of
science and technology.

A unit is a particular physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention, with

which other particular quantities of the same kind are compared to express their
value.

The value of a physical quantity is the quantitative expression of a particular physical

quantity as the product of a number and a unit, the number being its numerical value.
Thus, the numerical value of a particular physical quantity depends on the unit in
which it is expressed.

For a particular quantity, many different units may be used. For example, the speed v
of a car may be expressed in the form v = 25 m/s = 90 km/h, where meter per second
and kilometer per hour are alternative units for expressing the same value of the
quantity speed.

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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

Base quantity SI base unit

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

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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.

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 (a) 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 mole per cubic meter mol/m3
concentration
luminance candela per square meter cd/m2
mass fraction kilogram per kilogram, which may be kg/kg = 1
represented by the number 1
(a)
The wavelength is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats: it is usually determined by
considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as
crests. It is commonly designated by the Greek letter lambda (λ) and has the dimension of a lenght
(m). The wavenumber is defined as the number of wavelengths per unit distance (1/λ): it has the
dimension of a reciprocal length, so its SI unit is the reciprocal of meters (m−1).

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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

Derived quantity SI derived unit

Name Symbol Expression Expression
in terms of in terms of
other SI SI base units
units
plane angle radian rad - m·m-1 = 1
solid angle steradian sr - m2·m-2 = 1
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 joule J N·m m2·kg·s-2
heat
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 Wb/m2 kg·s-2·A-1
inductance henry H Wb/A m2·kg·s-2·A-2
Celsius temperature degree °C - K
Celsius
luminous flux lumen lm cd·sr m2·m-2·cd =
cd
illuminance lux lx lm/m2 m ·m-4·cd =
2

m-2·cd
activity (of a radionuclide) becquerel Bq - s-1
absorbed dose, specific gray J/kg m2·s-2
Gy
energy (imparted), kerma
dose equivalent sievert Sv J/kg m2·s-2
catalytic activity katal kat s-1·mol

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SI prefixes

The 20 SI prefixes used to form decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units are
given in Table 4.

Table 4. Decimal multiples and submultiples

Decimal multiples Decimal submultiples

Factor Name Symbol Factor Name Symbol
1024 yotta Y 10-1 deci d
1021 Z 10 -2 centi c
zetta
1018 exa E 10-3 milli m
1015 peta P 10 -6 micro µ
12 -9
10 tera T 10 nano n
9 -12
10 giga G 10 pico p
106 mega M 10-15 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 4 are used with the unit name "gram" and the prefix symbols are used with the unit symbol
"g." In other words, it is possible to write 10-6 kg = 1 mg (one milligram), but not 10-6 kg = 1 µkg (one
microkilogram)

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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 5.

Table 5. 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
bel (b) B 1 B = (1/2) ln 10 Np
electronvolt eV 1 eV = 1.602 18 x 10-19 J,
approximately
unified atomic mass unit u 1 u = 1.660 54 x 10-27 kg,
approximately
astronomical unit au 1 au = 149 597 870 700
m, exactly
(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.

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Other units outside the SI that are currently accepted for use with the SI are given in
Table 6. 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 6 with the SI
except for the curie, roentgen, rad, and rem.

Table 6. 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

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Units of measurement for the temperature

The unit of measurement for the thermodynamic temperature (kelvin, K) is a SI base

unit. Other common units for the temperature are: Celsius (°C), Fahrenheit (°F) and
Réaumur (°Ré).

The lowest temperature (“Absolute Zero”) is corresponding to 0 K.

0 K = - 273 °C

The temperature for “ice-freezing point of water” is:

0 °C = 273 K = 32 °F = 0 °Ré

The temperature for “boiling water” (1 atm) is:

100 °C = 373 K = 212 °F = 80 °Ré

The conversions from a temperature to an other can be obtained through simply

calculations and proportions, for example:

°C = K - 273,15
°C: (°F - 32) = 100 : 180

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