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Base SI Units

The seven base SI units are the standard units used to measure fundamental physical quantities. They include the meter (length), kilogram (mass), second (time), ampere (electric current), kelvin (temperature), candela (luminous intensity), and mole (amount of substance). Each base unit is required to define its distinct quantity as the values would be meaningless without a constant unit of measurement. However, the current definitions of some base units are imperfect as some rely on other units, so a fluctuation in one could affect another.

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38 views2 pages

Base SI Units

The seven base SI units are the standard units used to measure fundamental physical quantities. They include the meter (length), kilogram (mass), second (time), ampere (electric current), kelvin (temperature), candela (luminous intensity), and mole (amount of substance). Each base unit is required to define its distinct quantity as the values would be meaningless without a constant unit of measurement. However, the current definitions of some base units are imperfect as some rely on other units, so a fluctuation in one could affect another.

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auctmetu
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Notes on SI units

What is a base SI unit? How many are there?


The base SI units are the standardised units for measurements as defined by the
International System of Units. They are non-derivable by nature, and thus are the
basis from which all other units are derived. There are seven, namely:
the metre for length,
the kilogram for mass,
the second for time,
the ampere for electric current,
kelvin for temperature,
the candela for luminous intensity,
the mole for the amount of substance.
Do we need them all?
We do need them all, as each unit defines a quantity of each of the measurements.
Without them, any numerical value of the measurement would be unattainable,
seeing as any such value would be of something, where the something is not a
constant. This would therefore make any calculated measurements meaningless in
having a inconstant unit to multiply.
The reason each of these units is required is that the measurements (such as length
and mass) are not connected, meaning that no constant measure of one can be
derived from another. Therefore, a base unit is required for each distinct category of
measure.
How are they defined?
Metre - length of time travelled by light in a vacuum in 1 299792458
Kilogram - mass of the international prototype of the kilogram
Second - duration of 9192631770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the
transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133
atom
Ampere - the constant current which produces a force of 2x10^-7 between two
parallel conductors of infinite length and negligible cross-section 1 metre apart
Kelvin - 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water
Mole - the amount of substance in the number of atoms of a chemical equal to the

number of atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon 12


Candela - "The candela is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that
emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 54010 12 hertz and that has a radiant
intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian." - I dont understand this one
Are these good definitions?
They are not perfect, as many of them are interdependent and thus rely on the
constancy of other units. This means that fluctuation in the mass of a kilogram may
affect the definition of a mole (being defined as the number of atoms in 0.012 kg of
carbon 12), meaning that it is not entirely reliable, as they must be as constants.

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