This is a list of units that are not defined as part of the International System of Units (SI) but are otherwise mentioned in the SI Brochure,[1] listed as being accepted for use alongside SI-units, or for explanatory purposes.
Units officially accepted for use with the SI
| Name | Symbol | Quantity | Value in SI units |
|---|---|---|---|
| minute | min | time | 1 min = 60 s |
| hour | h | time | 1 h = 60 min = 3 600 s |
| day | d | time | 1 d = 24 h = 1440 min = 86 400 s |
| astronomical unit | au | length | 1 au = 149 597 870 700 m |
| degree | ° | plane angle and phase angle | 1° = (π/180) rad |
| arcminute | ′ | plane angle and phase angle | 1′ = (1/60)° = (π/10 800) rad |
| arcsecond | ″ | plane angle and phase angle | 1″ = (1/60)′ = (1/3 600)° = (π/648 000) rad |
| hectare | ha | area | 1 ha = 1 hm2 = 10 000 m2 |
| litre | l, L | volume | 1 L = 1 dm3 = 1 000 cm3 = 0.001 m3 |
| tonne | t | mass | 1 t = 1 Mg = 1 000 kg |
| dalton | Da | mass | 1 Da = 1.66053906660(50)×10−27 kg[2][note 1] |
| electronvolt | eV | energy | 1 eV = 1.602176634×10−19 J |
| neper | Np | logarithmic ratio quantity | — |
| bel, decibel | B, dB | logarithmic ratio quantity | — |
The SI prefixes can be used with several of these units, but not, for example, with the non-SI units of time.
Other units defined but not officially sanctioned
The following table lists units that are effectively defined in side- and footnotes in the 9th SI brochure. Units that are mentioned without a definition or that occur in historical material recorded in the appendices are not included.
| Name | Symbol | Quantity | Equivalent official unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| gal[note 2] | Gal | acceleration | 1 Gal = 1 cm⋅s−2 = 0.01 m⋅s−2 |
| unified atomic mass unit[note 3] | u | mass | 1 u = 1 Da |
| volt-ampere reactive | var | reactive power | 1 var = 1 V⋅A |
Changes to units mentioned in the SI
With the publication of each edition of the SI brochure, the list of non-SI units listed in tables changed compared to the preceding SI brochures.[3] The table below compares the status of each unit for which the status has changed between editions of the SI Brochure.
| Name | Symbol | 1st–3rd SI Brochures | 4–6th SI Brochures | 7th SI Brochure | 8th SI Brochure | 9th SI Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| astronomical unit | au[note 4] | accepted | omitted | accepted | accepted | accepted |
| parsec | pc | accepted | omitted | omitted | omitted | omitted |
| neper | Np | omitted | omitted | accepted | listed | accepted |
| bel | b | omitted | omitted | accepted | listed | accepted |
| decibel | db | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | accepted |
| unified atomic mass unit | u | accepted | accepted | accepted | accepted | footnote |
| dalton | Da | omitted | omitted | footnote | accepted | accepted |
| natural unit (n.u.) of speed | c0 | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| n.u. of action | ħ | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| n.u. of mass | me | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| n.u. of time | ħ/(mec02) | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| atomic unit (a.u.) of charge | e | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| a.u. of mass | me | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| a.u. of action | ħ | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| a.u. of length | a0 | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| a.u. of energy | Eh | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| a.u. of time | ħ/Eh | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
| nautical mile | M | temporary | temporary | temporary | listed | omitted |
| knot | kn | temporary | temporary | temporary | listed | omitted |
| ångström | Å | temporary | temporary | temporary | listed | omitted |
| are | a | temporary | temporary | temporary | omitted | omitted |
| hectare | ha | temporary | temporary | temporary | accepted | accepted |
| barn | b | temporary | temporary | temporary | listed | omitted |
| bar | bar | temporary | temporary | temporary | listed | omitted |
| standard atmosphere | atm | temporary | listed | listed | omitted | omitted |
| gal | Gal | temporary | temporary | listed | listed | footnote |
| curie | Ci | temporary | temporary | listed | omitted | omitted |
| roentgen | R | temporary | temporary | listed | omitted | omitted |
| rad | rad | temporary | temporary | listed | omitted | omitted |
| rem | rem | omitted | temporary | listed | omitted | omitted |
| erg | erg | listed | listed | listed | listed | omitted |
| dyne | dyn | listed | listed | listed | listed | omitted |
| poise | P | listed | listed | listed | listed | omitted |
| stokes | st | listed | listed | listed | listed | omitted |
| maxwell | Mx | listed | listed | listed | listed | omitted |
| gauss | G | listed | listed | listed | listed | omitted |
| ørsted | Oe | listed | listed | listed | listed | omitted |
| phot | ph | listed | listed | listed | listed | omitted |
| fermi | listed | listed | listed | omitted | omitted | |
| metric carat | listed | listed | listed | omitted | omitted | |
| torr | Torr | listed | listed | listed | omitted | omitted |
| kilogram-force | kgf | listed | listed | omitted | omitted | omitted |
| calorie | cal | listed | listed | listed | omitted | omitted |
| micron | μ | listed | listed | listed | omitted | omitted |
| x-unit | xu | listed | listed | omitted | omitted | omitted |
| stilb | sb | listed | listed | omitted | omitted | omitted |
| gamma (Mass) | γ | listed | listed | listed | omitted | omitted |
| γ (magnetic flux density) | γ | listed | listed | omitted | omitted | omitted |
| lambda | λ | listed | listed | omitted | omitted | omitted |
| jansky | Jy | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted | omitted |
| millimetre of mercury | mmHg | omitted | omitted | omitted | listed | omitted |
In this table, the status descriptions have the following meanings:
- "accepted": The unit is accepted for use with the SI.
- "temporary": The unit is accepted for use with the SI, but is planned to be phased out.
- "listed": The unit is defined in a table of units in the brochure but not accepted for use with the SI.
- "footnote": The unit is defined in a footnote or side note, without any mention in the main text.
- "omitted": There is no mention of the unit in the brochure, excluding historical appendices.
See also
Notes and references
Notes
- ↑ A footnote in the 9th SI Brochure gives an exact definition of the dalton.
- ↑ This is a unit employed in geodesy and geophysics to express acceleration due to gravity.
- ↑ The unified mass unit (u) is a synonym of the dalton (Da). In edition 9 (2019) of the SI Brochure, the unified mass unit is no longer listed as being accepted for use with SI units, though it notes its equivalence with the dalton in a footnote. In edition 8 (2006), both names were mentioned in parallel. In edition 7 (1998), position was the reverse of that in edition 9. Earlier editions mentioned only u.
- ↑ The symbol given for the astronomical unit changed from ua in the 8th to au in the 9th SI Brochure.
References
- ↑ Bureau international des poids et mesures, "Non-SI units that are accepted for use with the SI", in: Le Système international d'unités (SI) / The International System of Units (SI), 9th ed. (Sèvres: 2019), ISBN 9789282222720, c. 4, pp. 145–146.
- ↑ "2018 CODATA Value: atomic mass constant". The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty. NIST. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
- ↑ Bureau international des poids et mesures, Le Système international d'unités (SI) / The International System of Units (SI), 8th ed. (Sèvres: Organisation Intergouvernementale de la Convention du Mètre, 2006‑05), ISBN 9282222136.
