scientific units and notation, conversion tables
The Oxford Companion to the Earth
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2000
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© The Oxford Companion to the Earth 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information)
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scientific units and notation, conversion tables SI units
Base and supplementary SI units
Physical quantity | SI unit | Symbol |
|---|
length | metre | m |
mass | kilogram | kg |
time | second | s |
electric current | ampere | A |
thermodynamic temperature | kelvin | K |
luminous intensity | candela | cd |
amount of substance | mole | mol |
plane angle (supplementary unit) | radian | rad |
solid angle (supplementary unit) | steradian | sr |
Derived SI units with special names
Physical quantity | SI unit | Symbol |
|---|
frequency | hertz | Hz |
energy | joule | J |
force | newton | N |
power | watt | W |
pressure | pascal | Pa |
electric charge | coulomb | C |
electric potential difference | volt | V |
electric resistance | ohm | Ω |
electric conductance | siemens | S |
electric capacitance | farad | F |
magnetic flux | weber | Wb |
inductance | henry | H |
magnetic flux density (magnetic induction) | tesla | T |
luminous flux | lumen | lm |
illuminance | lux | lx |
absorbed dose | gray | Gy |
activity | becquerel | Bq |
dose equivalent | sievert | Sv |
Decimal multiples and submultiples used with SI units
Submultiple | Prefix | Symbol | Multiple | Prefix | Symbol |
|---|
10−1 | deci- | d | 10 | deca- | da |
10−2 | centi- | c | 102 | hecto- | h |
10−3 | milli- | m | 103 | kilo- | k |
10−6 | micro- | μ | 106 | mega- | M |
10−9 | nano- | n | 109 | giga- | G |
10−12 | pico- | p | 1012 | tera- | T |
10−15 | femto- | f | 1015 | peta- | P |
10−18 | atto- | a | 1018 | exa- | E |
10−21 | zepto- | z | 1021 | zetta- | Z |
10−24 | yocto- | y | 1024 | yotta- | Y |
Ma, Ga. Two non-SI units of time commonly used in the geological sciences are the megayear (one million years), abbreviated to Ma, and the gigayear (one billion or 10
9 years), abbreviated to Ga.
The index or power notation
The index, or power, notation is generally used in science to express large or small numbers. It uses powers of ten. Thus, 100 is 10
2; 1000 is 10
3; 1 000 000 (one million) is 10
6; one billion (a thousand million) is 10
9; and so on. It will be apparent that the index (i.e., the power of ten) is equal to the number of noughts in the number that is represented.
This notation is similarly used to denote decimals by inserting a minus sign. Thus, 0.1 (one-tenth) is 10
−1; 0.01 (one-hundredth) is 10
−2; 0.001 (one thousandth) is 10
−3; and so on.
The index notation is also used in combination with abbreviations for units. For example, ‘square metre’ is concisely rendered as m
2; ‘cubic metre’ as m
3. Negative indices are used in place of ‘per’ or the oblique stroke, as in m s
−1 (metres per second or m/s); m s
−2 (metres per second per second). Reference to the table of units in this appendix in conjunction with this note should elucidate any unfamiliar SI unit.
Conversion tables
Length
| metre | centimetre | inch | foot | yard |
|---|
1 metre | 1 | 100 | 39.3701 | 3.28084 | 1.09361 |
1 centimetre | 0.01 | 1 | 0.393701 | 0.328084 | 0.0109361 |
1 inch | 0.0254 | 2.54 | 1 | 0.0833333 | 0.0277778 |
1 foot | 0.3048 | 30.48 | 12 | 1 | 0.333333 |
1 yard | 0.9144 | 91.44 | 36 | 3 | 1 |
| kilometre | mile | nautical mile | | |
|---|
1 kilometre | 1 | 0.621371 | 0.539957 | | |
1 mile | 1.60934 | 1 | 0.868976 | | |
1 nautical mile | 1.85200 | 1.15078 | 1 | | |
Area
| m2 | cm2 | in2 | ft2 | |
|---|
1 square metre | 1 | 104 | 1550 | 10.7639 | |
1 square centimetre | 10−4 | 1 | 0.155 | 1.07639×10−3 | |
1 square inch | 6.4516×10−4 | 6.4516 | 1 | 6.94444×10−3 | |
1 square foot | 9.2903×10−2 | 929.03 | 144 | 1 | |
| m2 | km2 | yd2 | mile2 | acre |
|---|
1 square metre | 1 | 10−6 | 1.19599 | 3.86019×10−7 | 2.47105×10−4 |
1 square kilometre | 106 | 1 | 1.19599 ×106 | 0.386019 | 247.105 |
1 square yard | 0.836127 | 8.36127×10−7 | 1 | 3.22831×10−7 | 2.06612×10−4 |
1 square mile | 2.58999×106 | 2.58999 | 3.0976×106 | 1 | 640 |
1 acre | 4.04686×103 | 4.04686×10−3 | 4840 | 1.5625×10−3 | 1 |
Volume
| m3 | cm3 | in3 | ft3 | gallons |
|---|
1 cubic metre | 1 | 106 | 6.10236×104 | 35.3146 | 219.969 |
1 cubic centimetre | 10−6 | 1 | 0.0610236 | 3.53146×10−5 | 2.19969×10−4 |
1 cubic inch | 1.63871×10−5 | 16.3871 | 1 | 5.78704×10−4 | 3.60464×10−3 |
1 cubic foot | 0.0283168 | 28316.8 | 1728 | 1 | 6.22882 |
1 gallon (UK) | 4.54609×10−3 | 4546.09 | 277.42 | 0.160544 | 1 |
Speed
| m/sec | km/hr | mile/hr | ft/s |
|---|
1 metre per second | 1 | 3.6 | 2.23694 | 3.28084 |
1 kilometre per hour | 0.277778 | 1 | 0.621371 | 0.911346 |
1 mile per hour | 0.44704 | 1.609344 | 1 | 1.46667 |
1 foot per second | 0.3048 | 1.09728 | 0.681817 | 1 |
Mass
| kg | g | lb |
|---|
1 kilogram | 1 | 1000 | 2.20462 |
1 gram | 10−3 | 1 | 2.20462×10−3 |
1 pound | 0.453592 | 453.592 | 1 |
Density
| kg/m3 | g/cm3 | lb/ft3 |
|---|
1 kilogram per cubic metre | 1 | 10−3 | 0.062428 |
1 gram per cubic centimetre | 1000 | 1 | 62.428 |
1 pound per cubic foot | 16.0185 | 0.0160185 | 1 |
Force
| N | kgf | dyne | poundal | lbf |
|---|
1 newton | 1 | 0.101972 | 105 | 7.23300 | 0.224809 |
1 kilogram force | 9.80665 | 1 | 9.80665×105 | 70.9316 | 2.20462 |
1 dyne | 10−5 | 1.01972×106 | 1 | 7.23300×10−5 | 2.4809×10−6 |
1 poundal | 0.138255 | 1.40981×10−2 | 1.38255×104 | 1 | 0.031081 |
1 pound force | 4.44822 | 0.453592 | 4.44823×105 | 32.174 | 1 |
Pressure
| N/m2(Pa) | kg/cm2 | lb/in2 | atmos |
|---|
1 newton per square metre (pascal) | 1 | 1.01972×10−5 | 1.45038×10−4 | 9.86923×10−6 |
1 kilogram per square centimetre | 980.665×102 | 1 | 14.2234 | 0.967841 |
1 pound per square inch | 6.89476×103 | 0.0703068 | 1 | 0.068046 |
1 atmosphere | 1.01325×105 | 1.03323 | 14.6959 | 1 |
Work and energy
| J | cal | kWh | btu |
|---|
1 joule | 1 | 0.238846 | 2.7778×10−7 | 9.47813×10−4 |
1 calorie | 4.1868 | 1 | 1.16300×10−6 | 3.96831×10−3 |
1 kilowatt hour | 3.6×106 | 8.59845×105 | 1 | 3412.14 |
1 British Thermal Unit | 1055.06 | 251.997 | 2.93071×10−4 | 1 |
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