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Dimensions and Units

Physical quantities have precise scientific definitions and are measured using units. There are primary quantities like length, time, and mass that dimensions of other secondary quantities are based on. The International System of Units (SI System) defines the standard units used to measure these primary quantities, such as meters for length and kilograms for mass. It also identifies supplementary and secondary quantities with their derived standard units, for example Newtons for force and Joules for energy. Other measurement systems like the British and English systems also define primary quantities, their dimensions, and derived units but use different standard units like feet and pounds.

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Syarif Hidayat
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18 views

Dimensions and Units

Physical quantities have precise scientific definitions and are measured using units. There are primary quantities like length, time, and mass that dimensions of other secondary quantities are based on. The International System of Units (SI System) defines the standard units used to measure these primary quantities, such as meters for length and kilograms for mass. It also identifies supplementary and secondary quantities with their derived standard units, for example Newtons for force and Joules for energy. Other measurement systems like the British and English systems also define primary quantities, their dimensions, and derived units but use different standard units like feet and pounds.

Uploaded by

Syarif Hidayat
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dimensions and Units

Physical quantities: properties which have a precise and unambiguous scientific definition and are measurable; all physical quantities have dimensions and are measured in terms of properly defined units; examples: length, time, energy, surface tension Primary quantities: a set of quantities which are independent of each other and are adopted by a convention, called system of dimensions and units; the dimensions of primary properties are used to express the dimensions of all other quantities, called secondary quantities a precisely defined and fixed amount of a physical quantity that serves as a standard for its measurement

Unit:

International System of Units (SI System - Systme International dUnits ) (established by International Standards Organization - ISO) Primary quantities length Dimensions L Base units m Unit definitions distance travelled by light in vacuum during 1/299,792,458 s based on period of transitions of cesium atoms mass of prototype kilogram kept near Paris

time mass temperature electric current amount of substance luminous intensity Supplementary quantities plane angle solid angle Secondary quantities (examples only) force energy, work, heat quantity power pressure, stress

t M T

s kg K (Kelvin) A (ampere) mol cd (candela)

rad sterad Derived units

MLt-2 ML2t-2 ML2t-3 ML-1t-2

N (Newton) J (Joule) W (Watt) Pa (Pascal)

1 N = 1 kg m s-2 1 J = 1 N m = 1 kg m2 s-2 1 W = 1 J s-1 =1 kg m2 s-3 1 Pa = 1 N m-2 = 1 kg m-1 s-2

British Gravitational System of Units Primary quantities length time force temperature Secondary quantity mass FL-1t2 Dimensions L t F T Base units ft s lbf Unit definitions 1 ft = 12 @ 0.0254 m same as for SI

/R (Rankine)
Derived unit slug 1 slug = 1 lbf ft-1 s2

English Engineering System of Units Primary quantities length time force temperature mass Dimensions L t F T M Base units ft s lbf Unit definitions

/R (Rankine)
lbm (1 lbm = 1/32.2 slug)

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