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An overview of ranges of mass. To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following lists describe various mass levels between 10 −67 kg and 10 52 kg. The least massive thing listed here is a graviton, and the most massive thing is the observable universe.
Conversions between units in the metric system are defined by their prefixes (for example, 1 kilogram = 1000 grams, 1 milligram = 0.001 grams) and are thus not listed in this article. Exceptions are made if the unit is commonly known by another name (for example, 1 micron = 10 −6 metre).
Metric units are units based on the metre, gram or second and decimal (power of ten) multiples or sub-multiples of these. According to Schadow and McDonald, [1] metric units, in general, are those units "defined 'in the spirit' of the metric system, that emerged in late 18th century France and was rapidly adopted by scientists and engineers.
After the metre was redefined in 1960, the International Prototype of the Kilogram (IPK) was the only physical artefact upon which base units (directly the kilogram and indirectly the ampere, mole and candela) depended for their definition, making these units subject to periodic comparisons of national standard kilograms with the IPK. [38]
The kilogram (also spelled kilogramme [1]) is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. [1] The word "kilogram" is formed from the combination of the metric prefix kilo-(meaning one thousand) and gram; [2] it is colloquially shortened to "kilo" (plural "kilos").
In 1832, Gauss used the astronomical second as a base unit in defining the gravitation of the Earth, and together with the milligram and millimetre, this became the first system of mechanical units. He showed that the strength of a magnet could also be quantified in terms of these units, by measuring the oscillations of a magnetised needle and ...
At retail stores, the litre (spelled 'liter' in the U.S.) is a commonly used unit for volume, especially on bottles of beverages, and milligrams, rather than grains, are used for medications. Some other non- SI units are still in international use, such as nautical miles and knots in aviation and shipping, and feet for aircraft altitude.
The gram (originally gramme; [1] SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram.. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre [1 cm 3], and at the temperature of melting ice", [2] the defining temperature (≈0 °C) was later changed to 4 ...