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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).
In some contexts, the term "pound" is used almost exclusively to refer to the unit of force and not the unit of mass. In those applications, the preferred unit of mass is the slug, i.e. lbf⋅s 2 /ft. In other contexts, the unit "pound" refers to a unit of mass. The international standard symbol for the pound as a unit of mass is lb. [8]
The conversion between different SI units for one and the same physical quantity is always through a power of ten. This is why the SI (and metric systems more generally) are called decimal systems of measurement units. [10] The grouping formed by a prefix symbol attached to a unit symbol (e.g. ' km ', ' cm ') constitutes a new inseparable unit ...
Each variant of the metric system has a degree of coherence—the derived units are directly related to the base units without the need for intermediate conversion factors. [19] For example, in a coherent system the units of force, energy, and power are chosen so that the equations
Units for other physical quantities are derived from this set as needed. In English Engineering Units, the pound-mass and the pound-force are distinct base units, and Newton's Second Law of Motion takes the form = where is the acceleration in ft/s 2 and g c = 32.174 lb·ft/(lbf·s 2).
The table below lists units supported by {{convert}}. More complete lists are linked for each dimension. For a complete list of all dimensions, see full list of units. {{Convert}} uses unit-codes, which are similar to, but not necessarily exactly the same as, the usual written abbreviation for a given unit. These unit-codes are displayed in ...
The table usually lists only one name and symbol that is most commonly used. The final column lists some special properties that some of the quantities have, such as their scaling behavior (i.e. whether the quantity is intensive or extensive ), their transformation properties (i.e. whether the quantity is a scalar , vector , matrix or tensor ...
Conversion of units is the conversion of the unit of measurement in which a quantity is expressed, typically through a multiplicative conversion factor that changes the unit without changing the quantity. This is also often loosely taken to include replacement of a quantity with a corresponding quantity that describes the same physical property.