DIMENSIONAL

ANALYSIS

What it is:
In science, dimensional analysis is
a tool to find or check relations
among physical quantities by using
their dimensions.

What it is:
In science, dimensional analysis is a
tool to find or check relations among
physical quantities by using their
dimensions.
The dimension of a physical quantity
is the combination of (up to) 7
fundamental dimensions which
describe it.
Ex: speed has the dimension length per time,
and volume has dimensions of length cubed.

What it is:
In science, dimensional analysis is a tool to
find or check relations among physical
quantities by using their dimensions.
The dimension of a physical quantity is the
combination of the 7 fundamental
dimensions which describe it.
Ex: speed has the dimension length per time, and
volume has dimensions of length cubed.

Dimensional analysis is based on the fact that a

physical law must be independent of the
units used to measure the physical
variables.

What it is:
In science, dimensional analysis is a tool to find or check
relations among physical quantities by using their
dimensions.
The dimension of a physical quantity is the combination
of the 7 fundamental dimensions which describe it.
Ex: speed has the dimension length per time, and volume has
dimensions of length cubed.

Dimensional analysis is based on the fact that a physical

law must be independent of the units used to measure the
physical variables.

It follows that any meaningful equation must

have the same dimensions in the left and
right sides. Checking this is the basic way of
performing dimensional analysis.

EXAMPLE I
Lets check if our instincts about
speed lead to a sensible equation.
We calculate distance by multiplying
the speed of travel by the time of
travel. Is this equation dimensionally
correct?

EXAMPLE I
To check, lets first replace distance
by its dimension, [L] (length):

EXAMPLE I
To check, lets first replace distance
by its dimension, [L] (length):

Next, lets replace speed by its

dimension, [L]/[T] (length/time):

EXAMPLE I
Next, lets replace speed by its
dimension, [L]/[T] (length/time):

Finally, we replace time by its

dimension (of time, of course!):

EXAMPLE I
Finally, we replace time by its
dimension (of time, of course!):

We can now simplify the right side, to

obtain:
=

EXAMPLE I
We can now simplify the right side, to
obtain:
=
Both sides of the equation have the
same dimension; the equation is, in
principle, correct.

EXAMPLE II
Lets
look at a chemistry equation: the

ideal gas law. It states that the pressure,

volume and temperature of n moles of gas
is given by:

To make it easier to see, well replace

quantities by their SI units (instead of
dimensions). Furthermore, well do it one at
a time.

IDEAL GAS LAW (contd)

Pressure

is by definition measured in
N/m2:
V = nRT

IDEAL GAS LAW (contd)

Pressure

is by definition measured in
N/m2:
V = nRT
Volume in measured in m3:
[m]3 = nRT

IDEAL GAS LAW (contd)

Volume in measured in m3:
[m]3 = nRT
n is the number of moles, and
therefore measured in mol:
[m]3 = [mol]RT

IDEAL GAS LAW (contd)

n
is the number of moles, and
therefore measured in mol:
[m]3 = [mol]RT
Temperature is measured in K(elvin):
[m]3 = [mol]R[K]

IDEAL GAS LAW (contd)

Temperature is measured in K(elvin):
[m]3 = [mol]R[K]
Finally, R is the universal gas
constant, measured in [J]/([mol][K]):
[m]3 = [mol][K]

IDEAL GAS LAW (contd)

Now

we simplify both sides of the

equation:
[m]3 = [mol][K]
We obtain:
[N][m] =[J]

IDEAL GAS LAW (contd)

We obtain:
[N][m] =[J]
Now, it turns out that 1J = 1 Nm (one
Joule equals one Newton times
meter). So:
[J] =[J]

IDEAL GAS LAW (contd)

Now,

it turns out that 1J = 1 Nm (one

Joule equals one Newton times
meter). So:
[J] =[J]
This means that our equation is
dimensionally correct!

EXAMPLE III
As
our final example, lets check a
geometry equation, for example, for
the perimeter of a rectangle:
,
where a and b are the lengths of the
two sides.

EXAMPLE III (contd)

Lets

replace a and b by their

dimensions:
.

EXAMPLE III (contd)

Lets

replace a and b by their

dimensions:
.
Now, 2 times a length is still a length,
so:
.

EXAMPLE III (contd)

2 times a length is still a length, so:
Now,

.
Finally, two lengths added still have
dimensions of length, so the right side is:
.

EXAMPLE III (contd)

Finally,
two lengths added still have

dimensions of length, so the right side is:

.
By definition, the perimeter of any geometric
figure is the length along its periphery, so:
.

EXAMPLE III (contd)

By
definition, the perimeter of any geometric
figure is the length along its periphery, so:
.
The equation is dimensionally correct, because
both its sides have the same dimension:
.

EXAMPLE IV
As
a last example, lets say we need
an equation to figure out the volume
V of a geometric figure in terms of all
three sides (for example, a, b and c);
we try the following one:

EXAMPLE IV (contd)
Lets

check if it is dimensionally
correct, that is, if our educated
guess has at least a chance of being
correct. Replace each of the three
sides by their dimensions of length:

EXAMPLE IV (contd)
Replace each of the three sides by
their dimensions of length:

All lengths squared add up to, well,

length squared:

EXAMPLE IV (contd)
All lengths squared add up to, well,
length squared:

The right side becomes, after

simplification:

EXAMPLE IV (contd)
The right side becomes, after
simplification:

The left side has dimensions of cubic

length, so

EXAMPLE IV (contd)
The left side has dimensions of cubic
length, so

Simplifying the left side:

EXAMPLE IV (contd)
Simplifying the left side:

The two sides are wildly different (in

dimension); therefore, our guess
equation is not dimensionally correct.

Procedure to check
dimensionality
1. Eliminate all constants (numbers
without units), by dropping them
out of the equation. That is, re-write
the equation, leaving the constants
out.

Procedure to check
dimensionality
1. Eliminate all constants, by
dropping them out of the
equation. That is, re-write the
equation, leaving the constants out.
2. Replace all quantities by their SI
dimensions, on both sides of the
equation.

Procedure to check
dimensionality
1. Eliminate all constants, by
dropping them out of the
equation. That is, re-write the
equation, leaving the constants out.
2. Replace all quantities by their SI
dimensions, on both sides of the
equation.
3. Simplify both sides.

Procedure to check
dimensionality
1. Eliminate all constants, by dropping
them out of the equation. That is, re-write
the equation, leaving the constants out.
2. Replace all quantities by their dimensions,
on both sides of the equation.
3. Simplify both sides.
4. Compare both (simplified) sides. If they
have the same dimension, the equation is
dimensionally correct.

CAUTION!
constants are dropped from
Because

equations when testing their

dimensionality, the final answer will have
the correct form, but will not necessarily
be the correct one.
For example, both equations below have
the same dimensions, but only the one on
the right is correct when applied to a right
angle triangle:
CORRECT ONE
and

THE END
Lilian Wehner