Bureau International des Poids et Mesures

http://www.bipm.org/

Le Système International d’unités

Sébastien L E ROUX sebastien.leroux@ipcms.unistra.fr

I NSTITUT DE P HYSIQUE ET DE C HIMIE DES M ATÉRIAUX DE S TRASBOURG ,

D ÉPARTEMENT DES M ATÉRIAUX O RGANIQUES ,
23 RUE DU L OESS , BP43,
F-67034 S TRASBOURG C EDEX 2, F RANCE
 Le Système International d’unités - SI

1.1 The metric system - a decimal based unit system

1.1.1 Some important names

• John Wilkins (Natural philosopher) 1614-1672 - England

• Benjamin Franklin (Physicist) 1706-1790 - U.S.A.

• Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (Chemist, Physicist), aka "father of modern chemistry" 1743-

1794 - France

• Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre (Astronomer) 1749-1822 - France

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Chapter 1. Le Système International d’unités - SI 2

• Pierre Méchain (Astronomer) 1744-1804 - France

The metric system, including the metre, was first described by Englishman John Wilkins in
1668 in a treatise presented to the Royal Society, some 120 years before the French revolution.
The idea of Wilkins was to use of a decimal based system with a unit equal to 1 prussian inch
= 26,15 mm.
It is believed that the system was transmitted to France from England via the likes of Benjamin
Franklin (who spent a great deal of time in London and was ambassador of the USA in France
until 1785), and produced the by-product of the decimalised paper currency system, before
finding favor with french American revolutionary ally Louis XVI.

For the common mind the most famous legacies of the french revolution (1789), are prob-
ably the declaration of human rights and, more unfortunately, the Guillotine. However for
scientists one of the greatest achievement of this period of history is clearly the unification
of the unit systems. Proliferation of disparate measurement systems was one of the most
frequent causes of disputes amongst merchants and between citizens and tax collectors. A
unified country with a single currency and a countrywide market, as most European countries
were becoming by the end of the 18th century, had a very strong economic incentive to break
with this situation and standardise on a measuring system. The inconsistency problem was
not one of different units but one of differing sized units. Instead of simply standardising
the size of the existing units, the leaders of the French revolutionary Assemblée Constituante
decided that a completely new system should be adopted. It was felt that no country would
accept standardizing on the units of another country, but that there would be less resistance if a
completely new system made change compulsory for all countries.

In order to establish a universally accepted foundation for the definition of measures, in

1790 the Assemblée Constituante asked the French Academy of Sciences to introduce a new
unit of measurement. A frist idea was ruled out, and was to use the length l of a pendulum
which period T would be equal to 1 s:
s
l
T = 2π (1.1)
g

l is proportional to g, and g changes, slightly, depending on your location on Earth.

The academics decided then on the metre, defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the
North Pole to the equator, and prepared to organize an expedition to measure the length of the

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3 1.1. The metric system - a decimal based unit system

meridian between Dunquerk and Barcelona [Fig. 1.1].

Figure 1.1 The first measurement to determine the metre, from Dunkerque (France) to
Barcelona (Spain)

This portion of the meridian, which also passes through Paris, was to serve as the basis for the
length of the quarter meridian, connecting the North Pole with the Equator. On February 15,
1792, Delambre was elected unanimously a member of the French Academy of Sciences and
in May 1792, was placed in charge of the northern expedition, measuring the meridian from
Dunkerque to Rodez.
Pierre Méchain headed the southern expedition, measuring from Barcelona to Rodez. The
measurements were finished only in 1798. The gathered data were presented to an international
conference of savants in Paris the following year.

In the early metric system, there were several fundamental or base units, the metre for
length, the gram for mass and the litre for capacity. These were derived from each other via the
properties of natural objects, mainly the Earth and water:

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Chapter 1. Le Système International d’unités - SI 4

1.1.1.1 Mètre

1 metre was originally defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance between the North Pole and
Earth’s equator as measured along the meridian passing through Paris: 1m = 1/10,000,000 of
the quarter of a meridian.

1.1.1.2 Kilogramme

The kilogram was originally defined as the mass of one litre (or, equivalently, 1 dm3) of water
at its melting point in ◦ C (the Celsius temperature scale was derived from the properties of
water, with 0 ◦ C being defined as its freezing point and 100 ◦ C being defined as its boiling
point under a pressure of one standard atmosphere). This definition was later revised to specify
a temperature of 3.98 ◦ C point of highest density of water.

The creation of the decimal metric system at the time of the French Revolution and the
subsequent deposition of two platinum standards representing the metre and the kilogram, on
22 June 1799, in the Archives de la République in Paris can be seen as the first step in the
development of the present International System of Units.

1.1.2 Evolution
The desire for international cooperation on metrology led to the signing in 1875 of the Metre
Convention, a treaty which established three international organizations to oversee the keeping
of metric standards:

• Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures or CGPM (General Conference on Weights

and Measures) - a meeting every four to six years of delegates from all member states

• Bureau International des Poids et Mesures or BIPM (International Bureau of Weights and
Measures) - an international metrology centre at Sèvres in France

• Comité International des Poids et Mesures or CIPM (International Committee for

Weights and Measures) - an administrative committee which meets annually at the BIPM.

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5 1.2. S.I. "Le Système International d’unités"

1.2 S.I. "Le Système International d’unités"

The International System of Units (abbreviated SI from the French "Le Système international
d’unités") is the modern form of the metric system and is generally a system of units of mea-
surement devised around seven base units and the convenience of the number ten. It is the
world’s most widely used system of measurement, both in everyday commerce and in science.

The 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures (1960) adopted the name Système
International d’Unités (International System of Units, international abbreviation SI), for the
recommended practical system of units of measurement.

The 11th CGPM laid down rules for the prefixes, the derived units, and other matters. The base
units are a choice of seven well-defined units which by convention are regarded as dimension-
ally independent: the metre, the kilogram, the second, the ampere, the kelvin, the mole, and
the candela. Derived units are those formed by combining base units according to the algebraic
relations linking the corresponding quantities. The names and symbols of some of the units
thus formed can be replaced by special names and symbols which can themselves be used to
form expressions and symbols of other derived units.

The SI is not static but evolves to match the world’s increasingly demanding requirements
for measurement.

1.2.1 The seven base units

1.2.1.1 metre

The 1889 definition of the metre, based on the international prototype of platinum-iridium, was
replaced by the 11th CGPM (1960) using a definition based on the wavelength of krypton 86

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Chapter 1. Le Système International d’unités - SI 6

Name Unit symbol Quantity Symbol

metre m length l
kilogram kg mass m
second s time t
ampere A electric current I
kelvin K thermodynamic temperature T
candela cd luminous intensity Iv
mole mol amount of substance n

Table 1.1 SI base units

radiation. This change was adopted in order to improve the accuracy with which the definition
of the metre could be realized, the realization being achieved using an interferometer with a
travelling microscope to measure the optical path difference as the fringes were counted. In
turn, this was replaced in 1983 by the 17th CGPM (1983, Resolution 1) that specified the
current definition, as follows:

The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time inter-
val of 1/299 792 458 of a second.

It follows that the speed of light in vacuum is exactly 299 792 458 metres per second, c0
= 299 792 458 m/s.

The original international prototype of the metre, which was sanctioned by the 1st CGPM
in 1889, is still kept at the BIPM under conditions specified in 1889.

1.2.1.2 kilogram

The international prototype of the kilogram, a material artefact made of 90%platinum-

10%iridium [Fig. 1.2], is kept at the BIPM with its six official copies in a vault under the
conditions specified by the 1st CGPM in 1889.
The 3rd CGPM (1901), in a declaration intended to end the ambiguity in popular usage
concerning the use of the word "weight", confirmed that:

The kilogram is the unit of mass; it is equal to the mass of the international proto-
type of the kilogram.

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7 1.2. S.I. "Le Système International d’unités"

Figure 1.2 The international prototype of the kilogram, a cylinder made of platinum-iridium.

It follows that the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram is always 1 kilo-
gram exactly, m(grand K) = 1 kg. However, due to the inevitable accumulation of contaminants

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Chapter 1. Le Système International d’unités - SI 8

on surfaces, the international prototype is subject to reversible surface contamination that

approaches 1 µg per year in mass.
For this reason, the CIPM declared that, pending further research, the reference mass of the
international prototype is that immediately after cleaning and washing by a specified method.
The reference mass thus defined is used to calibrate national standards of platinum-iridium
alloy.
The symbol, m(grand K), is used to denote the mass of the international prototype of the
kilogram, grand K.

Efforts are underway to redefine the kilogram in terms of fundamental physic quantities
that could be reproduced in any laboratory with suitable equipment.

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9 1.2. S.I. "Le Système International d’unités"

1.2.1.3 second

The unit of time, the second, was at one time considered to be the fraction 1/86 400 of the
mean solar day. The exact definition of "mean solar day" was left to the astronomers. However
measurements showed that irregularities in the rotation of the Earth made this an unsatisfactory
definition. In order to define the unit of time more precisely, the 11th CGPM (1960, Resolution
9) adopted a definition given by the International Astronomical Union based on the tropical
year 1900. Experimental work, however, had already shown that an atomic standard of time,
based on a transition between two energy levels of an atom or a molecule, could be realized and
reproduced much more accurately. Considering that a very precise definition of the unit of time
is indispensable for science and technology, the 13th CGPM (1967/68, Resolution 1) replaced
the definition of the second by the following:

The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding
to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133
atom.

It follows that the hyperfine splitting in the ground state of the caesium 133 atom is ex-
actly 9 192 631 770 hertz, nu(hfs Cs) = 9 192 631 770 Hz.
This definition refers to a caesium atom at rest at a temperature of 0 K.

1.2.1.4 ampere

The 9th CGPM (1948), which adopted the ampere for the unit of electric current, following a
definition proposed by the CIPM (1946, Resolution 2):

The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel con-
ductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed 1 metre apart in
vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2×10−7 newton per
metre of length.

It follows that the magnetic constant, µ0 , also known as the permeability of free space, is
exactly 4×10−7 henries per metre, µ0 = 4×10−7 H/m.

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Chapter 1. Le Système International d’unités - SI 10

1.2.1.5 kelvin

The definition of the unit of thermodynamic temperature was given in substance by the 10th
CGPM (1954, Resolution 3) which selected the triple point of water as the fundamental fixed
point and assigned to it the temperature 273.16 K, so defining the unit. The 13th CGPM
(1967/68, Resolution 3) adopted the name kelvin, symbol K, instead of "degree Kelvin", sym-
bol ◦ K, and defined the unit of thermodynamic temperature as follows (1967/68, Resolution 4):

The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature, is the fraction 1/273.16 of the ther-
modynamic temperature of the triple point of water.

It follows that the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water is exactly 273.16
kelvins, Ttpw = 273.16 K.

The unit of Celsius temperature is the degree Celsius, symbol ◦ C, which is by definition
equal in magnitude to the kelvin. A difference or interval of temperature may be expressed in
kelvins or in degrees Celsius, the numerical value of the temperature difference being the same.
However, the numerical value of a Celsius temperature expressed in degrees Celsius is related
to the numerical value of the thermodynamic temperature expressed in kelvins by the relation:

t/◦C = T /K˘273.15. (1.2)

1.2.1.6 candela

The units of luminous intensity based on flame or incandescent filament, the 16th CGPM (1979,
Resolution 3) adopted the following definition of the candela:

The candela is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits
monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 × 1012 hertz and that has a radiant in-
tensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian.

It follows that the spectral luminous efficacy for monochromatic radiation of frequency of
540 × 1012 hertz is exactly 683 lumens per watt, K = 683 lm/W = 683 cd sr/W.

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11 1.2. S.I. "Le Système International d’unités"

1.2.1.7 mole

Following the discovery of the fundamental laws of chemistry, units called, for example, "gram-
atom" and "gram-molecule", were used to specify amounts of chemical elements or compounds.
These units had a direct connection with "atomic weights" and "molecular weights", which are
in fact relative masses. "Atomic weights" were originally referred to the atomic weight of oxy-
gen, by general agreement taken as 16. But whereas physicists separated the isotopes in a mass
spectrometer and attributed the value 16 to one of the isotopes of oxygen, chemists attributed
the same value to the (slightly variable) mixture of isotopes 16, 17 and 18, which was for them
the naturally occurring element oxygen. Finally an agreement between the International Union
of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chem-
istry (IUPAC) brought this duality to an end in 1959/60.
Physicists and chemists have ever since agreed to assign the value 12, exactly, to the so-called
atomic weight of the isotope of carbon with mass number 12 (carbon 12, 12C), correctly called
the relative atomic mass Ar(12C).
The unified scale thus obtained gives the relative atomic and molecular masses, also known as
the atomic and molecular weights, respectively. The quantity used by chemists to specify the
amount of chemical elements or compounds is now called "amount of substance". Amount of
substance is defined to be proportional to the number of specified elementary entities in a sam-
ple, the proportionality constant being a universal constant which is the same for all samples.
The unit of amount of substance is called the mole, symbol mol, and the mole is defined by
specifying the mass of carbon 12 that constitutes one mole of carbon 12 atoms. By interna-
tional agreement this was fixed at 0.012 kg, i.e. 12 g.
Following proposals by the IUPAP, the IUPAC, and the ISO, the CIPM gave a definition of the
mole in 1967 and confirmed it in 1969. This was adopted by the 14th CGPM (1971, Resolution
3):

1. The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary
entities as there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram of carbon 12; its symbol is "mol".

2. When the mole is used, the elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms,
molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of such particles.

It follows that the molar mass of carbon 12 is exactly 12 grams per mole, M(12C) = 12
g/mol.
The definition of the mole also determines the value of the universal constant that relates the
number of entities to amount of substance for any sample. This constant is called the Avogadro

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Chapter 1. Le Système International d’unités - SI 12

constant, symbol NA or L. If N(X) denotes the number of entities X in a specified sample, and
if n(X) denotes the amount of substance of entities X in the same sample, the relation is:

n(X) = N(X)/NA (1.3)

Note that since N(X) is dimensionless, and n(X) has the SI unit mole, the Avogadro constant
has the coherent SI unit reciprocal mole. NA ≃ 6.02214179×1023 mol−1

1.2.2 SI prefixes

Factor Name Symbol

10−24 yocto y
10−21 zepto z
10−18 atto a
10−15 femto f
10−12 pico p
10−9 nano n
10−6 micro µ
10−3 milli m
10−2 centi c
10−1 deci d
101 deca da
102 hecto h
103 kilo k
106 mega M
109 giga G
1012 tera T
1015 peta P
1018 exa E
1021 zetta Z
1024 yotta Y

Table 1.2 SI prefixes

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13 1.2. S.I. "Le Système International d’unités"

Examples:
2.3 cm3 = 2.3 (cm)3 = 2.3 (10−2 m)3 = 2.3 x 10−6 m3
1 cm−1 = 1 (cm)−1 = 1 (10−2 m)−1 = 102 m−1 = 100 m−1
1 V/cm = (1 V)/(10−2 m) = 102 V/m = 100 V/m
5000 µs−1 = 5000 (µs)−1 = 5000 (10−6 s)−1 = 5 × 109 s−1

1.2.3 SI derived units

The number of quantities in science is without limit, and it is not possible to provide a complete
list of derived quantities and derived units. However, Table [Tab. 1.3] lists some examples of
derived quantities, and the corresponding coherent derived units expressed directly in terms of
base units.

Derived quantity SI coherent derived unit

Name Symbol Name Sy
area A square metre
volume V cubic metre
speed, velocity v metre per second m
acceleration a metre per second squared m
force Newton, N kilogram metre per second squared kg
energy Joule, J kilogram metre squared per second squared kg
wavenumber σ, ν̃ reciprocal metre
density, mass density ρ kilogram per cubic metre kg
surface density ρA kilogram per square metre kg
specific volume V cubic metre per kilogram m
current density j ampere per square metre A
magnetic field strength H ampere per metre A
amount concentration (a), concentration c mole per cubic metre mo
mass concentration ρ, γ kilogram per cubic metre kg
luminance Lv candela per square metre cd
refractive index (b) n one
relative permeability (b) µr one

(a) In the field of clinical chemistry this quantity is also called substance concentration.
(b) These are dimensionless quantities, or quantities of dimension one, and the symbol "1"
for the unit (the number "one") is generally omitted in specifying the values of dimensionless quantities.
Table 1.3 Examples of coherent derived units in the SI expressed in terms of base units

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Chapter 1. Le Système International d’unités - SI 14

1.3 Facts of interest

At this time only 3 countries in the world have not adopted yet the metric system as their
standard unit system (Burma, Liberia, USA) [Fig. 1.3].

Figure 1.3 Three nations have not officially adopted the International System of Units as
their primary or sole system of measurement: Burma, Liberia, and the United
States.

In the USA
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), known between 1901 and 1988
as the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), is a measurement standards laboratory which is a
non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. One of the missions of
the NIST is to edit a table containing the definitions of the US units based on the SI units.

Notable accidents due to an error in the utilisation of the units systems

• In 1983 a Boeing 767 jet ran out of fuel in mid-flight because of two mistakes in figuring
the fuel supply of Air Canada’s first aircraft to use metric measurements.

• In 1999 NASA lost a $125 million Mars orbiter because one engineering team used metric
units while another used US customary units for a calculation.

Sources
Bureau International des Poids et Mesures http://www.bipm.org/
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units

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