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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.
Engineering notation can only be applied to simple units—temperatures, combinations, and some other special units will not work. Some examples using engineering notation follow. {{convert|123.4|e3m2}} → 123.4 thousand square metres (1.328 × 10 ^ 6 sq ft)
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).
The other units of length and mass, and all units of area, volume, and derived units such as density were derived from these two base units. Mesures usuelles ( French for customary measures ) were a system of measurement introduced as a compromise between the metric system and traditional measurements.
A derived unit is used for expressing any other quantity, and is a product of powers of base units. For example, in the modern metric system, length has the unit metre and time has the unit second, and speed has the derived unit metre per second. [5]: 15 Density, or mass per unit volume, has the unit kilogram per cubic metre. [5]: 434
Template talk:Convert • Questions on using the convert template, or discussion of any problems encountered, or proposals to add units or change convert Wikipedia:Help desk • General questions Module talk:Convert • Discussion concerning the convert modules (however, discussions relating to units should occur at Template talk:Convert )
A set of base units for a system of measurement is a conventionally chosen set of units, none of which can be expressed as a combination of the others and in terms of which all the remaining units of the system can be expressed. [5] For example, units for length and time are normally chosen as base units.
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 ...