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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).
Many people apply individual rules, e.g. "to obtain length in centimeters multiply the length in inches by 2.54", but combining several such conversions is laborious and prone to mistakes. A better way is to use the factor-label method , which is closely related to dimensional analysis , and quantity calculus explained in sections 1.1 and 7.1 ...
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
The factor–label method can convert only unit quantities for which the units are in a linear relationship intersecting at 0 (ratio scale in Stevens's typology). Most conversions fit this paradigm. An example for which it cannot be used is the conversion between the Celsius scale and the Kelvin scale (or the Fahrenheit scale). Between degrees ...
The angstrom (symbol Å) is a unit of distance used in chemistry and atomic physics equal to 100 pm. The micron (μ) is a unit of distance equal to one micrometre (1 μm). The basic module (M) is a unit of distance equal to one hundred millimetres (100 mm). The myriametre (mym) is a unit of distance equal to ten kilometres (10 km).
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 ...
In measurements of purely mechanical systems (involving units of length, mass, force, energy, pressure, and so on), the differences between CGS and SI are straightforward: the unit-conversion factors are all powers of 10 as 100 cm = 1 m and 1000 g = 1 kg.
"The metre, symbol m, is the SI unit of length. It is defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the speed of light in vacuum c to be 299 792 458 when expressed in the unit m s −1, where the second is defined in terms of ∆ν Cs." [1] 1 / 10 000 000 of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole measured on the meridian arc ...