The Interna onal system “SI”

The International system is made up of 7 fundamental units (meter - kilogram - second - ampere - kelvin -
mole - candela) which are defined as follows:
The meter is the length of the path traveled in a vacuum by light for a duration of 1/299,792,458 of a
second. The speed of light is 299,792,458 (m/s).
The kilogram is the mass of a platinum iridium cylinder (90% platinum and 10% iridium) 39 mm in
diameter and 39 mm high. It is the only material standard made by man. It has been declared an SI unit of
mass since 1889 by the International Office of Weights and Measures (BIPM). The choice of its dimensions
is the result of a problem linked to the unified collection of taxes (at the time of the kings of France Louis 14
and 15). This need for unification was the basis of the definition of the gram as the mass of a cubic
centimeter of “pure water” at 4°C and the legal kilogram, the mass of a liter of “pure water” at 4°C.
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 cesium 133 atom at rest, at a temperature of 0 K.
The ampere is the intensity of a constant current which, maintained in two parallel, rectilinear conductors of
infinite length, of negligible circular section and placed at a distance of 1 meter from each other in a
vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2x10-7 newton per meter of length.
The mole is the quantity of matter in a system containing as many entities elementary that there are atoms in
0.012 kilograms of carbon 12, her symbol is “mol”. Elementary entities must be specified and can be atoms,
molecules, ions, electrons, other particles or specified groupings of such particles.

The kelvin, thermodynamic temperature unit, is the fraction 1/273.16

of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. Ttpw = 273.16 K.

The candela is the light intensity, in a given direction, from a source

which emits Mono Chromatic Radiation with a frequency fMCR = 540 × 1012 hertz
and whose energy intensity in this direction is 1/683 watt per steradian.
The chosen fMCR frequency corresponds to a wavelength of 555 nm, in the
green-yellow part of the visible spectrum, and which is close to the maximum
spectral sensitivity of the human eye to daylight.

Dimensional analysis allows rapid control of units. Secondary units are always at
least a combination of two fundamental units.
[X]= LMTANJ where L, M, T, A, , N and J are dimensions
respective of the 07 basic fundamental quantities, [X] can be any seconder physical greatness or
fondamental. Greek lettrs , , , , , ,  are their respective exhibitors (relative integers Z).

Greatness Symbol of greatness Symbol of dimension Unité Symbol of Unit

mass m M kilogram kg
lenght l L metr m
time t T second s
Electric power (fluent) i A ampere A
temperature T  kelvin K
Quantity of matter n N mole mol
Light intensity Iv J candela cd
 Uncertainties « doubts »
If the most probable value of the measured quantity is a0, its measured value is a and Δa its absolute
uncertainty: The result is written: a0 = a ± Δa (a and Δa have the same unit of measurement). a - ∆a < a0 < a
+ ∆a
Relative uncertainty: Δa/a (often expressed in %). A result is always followed by its uncertainty. The unit of
measurement must always be indicated.
The propagation of errors on the result of an operation.
If two or more quantities (a, b and c) are measured independently, the absolute error on the sum or on the
difference is the sum of the absolute errors on each of the terms. If the imprecision on a is ∆a and on b is
∆b, the highest probable value on c is: c = a+b,
c + Δc = (a+Δa)+(b+Δb)=[( a+b) +(Δa+Δb)] by identification we find Δc = Δa+Δb
If two or more quantities (a, b and c) are measured independently, the absolute error on the product or on the
ratio is the sum of the relative errors on each of the terms. If the imprecision on a is ∆a and on b is ∆b, the
highest probable value on c is for the product: c = a.b,
c + Δc = (a+Δa). (b+Δb)=[a.b +b.Δa+a.Δb + Δa.Δb] by identification we find
Δc = b.Δa+a.Δb + Δa.Δb as, Δa.Δb is negligible compared to the other terms.
So Δc = b.Δa+a.Δb if we currency by c to have Δc/c We will have
Δc/c = (b.Δa/ab) +(a.Δb/ab), Δc/c = (Δa/a) +(Δb/b).
for the report:

Generally speaking if we have: c = a/b then ln c = ln (a/b) = ln(a) – ln(b) if we go to the differential we
will have dc/c = (da/a ) – (db/b) ≅Δc/c = (Δa/a) + (Δb/b).

Random and systemaic errors

We can illustrate these notions of systematic and random errors by shooting at a target.