A Short History of

Measurement
 History of the International Systems of Units (SI)
1799 - French Revolution and the subsequent deposition of two platinum
standards representing the meter and the kilogram, on 22 June 1799, in the
Archives de la République in Paris

1832 - Gauss promoted using the Metric System. Gauss was the first to
make absolute measurements of the earth’s magnetic force in terms of a
decimal system based on the three mechanical units millimetre, gram and
second for, respectively, the quantities length, mass and time.
History of the International Systems of Units (SI) cont.

1860 - Maxwell and Thomson

further developed Gauss’s work
through the British Association for
the Advancement of Science
(BAAS). They formulated the
requirement for a coherent system
of units with base units and
derived units.

1874 - BAAS introduced the centimetre-gram-

second (CGS) system, a three-dimensional coherent
unit system based on the three mechanical units
centimetre, gram and second, using prefixes ranging
from micro to mega to express decimal submultiples
and multiples. The following development of physics
as an experimental science was largely based on this
system.
History of the International Systems of Units (SI) cont.
1880s - BAAS added the ohm for electrical
resistance, the volt for electromotive force, and
the ampere for electric current in conjunction with
International Electrical Congress .

May, 20 1875 - After the establishment of the

Meter convention the International Committee
for Weights and Measures (ICPM)
concentrated on the construction of new
prototypes taking the meter and kilogram as the
base units of length and mass.

In 1889 the 1st General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM)

sanctioned the international prototypes for the meter and the kilogram.
Together with the astronomical second as unit of time, these units constituted a
three-dimensional mechanical unit system similar to the CGS system, but with
the base units meter, kilogram and second.
History of the International Systems of Units (SI) cont.

1901 – Giovanni Giorgi a very

successful Italian Scientist and
Engineer showed that it is possible
to combine the mechanical units of
this meter–kilogram–second
system with the practical electric
units to form a single coherent four-
dimensional system. Giorgi’s
proposal opened the path to a
number of new developments

1921 - Giorgi proposal was thoroughly discussed by the several international

organizations.

1939-1946 The discussions led to the adoption of a four-dimensional system

based on the meter, kilogram, second and ampere, the proposal was approved
in 1946
History of the International Systems of Units (SI) cont.
1954 - The introduction of the ampere, the Kelvin and the candela as base units,
respectively, for electric current, thermodynamic temperature and luminous
intensity.

The ampere is officially defined as “the current in a pair of equally long, parallel,
straight wires 1 meter apart that produces a force of 0.0000002 Newton's
(2 × 10−7 N) between the wires for each meter of their length”
The Kelvin is officially defined as “A temperature scale in which zero occurs at
absolute zero and each degree equals one Kelvin. Water freezes at 273.15 K and boils
at 373.15 K.”
The Candela is officially defined as “A unit of luminous intensity equal to 1/60 of the
luminous intensity per square centimetre of a blackbody radiating at the temperature of
solidification of platinum (2,046°K).”
1960 - The name International System of Units (SI) was given to the system
1971 - the current version of the SI was completed by adding the mole as base
unit for amount of substance, bringing the total number of base units to seven.
The mole is officially defined as “The mass in grams of this amount of a substance,
numerically equal to the molecular weight of the substance.”
 SI Units

NPLS Beginners Guide to measurement (2010)

Si Units
Quantity Unit Symbol

Length Metre m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Area Squared metre m2
Solids volume Cubic metre m3
Liquid volume Litre L=10-3m3
Velocity Metre per second m/s
Acceleration Metre per second squared (m/s2)
Angle Radian rad
Angular velocity Radian per second rad/s
Angular acceleration Radians per second squared rad/s2
Density Kilogram per cubic metre kg/m3
Force Newton N = kgm/s2
Moment of force Newton-metre Nm
Stress and Pressure Pascal Pa = N/m2
Frequency Hertz Hz = cycle/s
Impulse Newton-second Ns
Work Joule J = Nm
Power Watt W=j/s
Thermal Conductivity Watt per metre per degree centigrade W/mC
Specific heat Joule per Kilogram per degree centigrade J/kgC
Convection film coefficient Watt per metre squared per degree centigrade W/m2C
Heat Power Watt W
Heat Flux (heat generation per area) Watt per metre squared W/m2
Examples of modern
measurement tools
 Assignment Solution
• Express the following numbers in
scientific notations:
• a) 0.015 b) 0.0000002 c) 54800

a) 1.5 x 10-2 b) 2 x 10-7 c)

5.48 x 104

11
 Express speed of sound (330 m/s) in
miles/h
(1 mile = 1609 m)
a)738 miles/h
b)730 miles/h
1 shake = 10-8 sec. Find out how many
nano seconds (ns) are there in 1 shake
(1ns=10-9s).
a)1 ns
b)10 ns
Express the following numbers in scientific
notations:
a) 0.015 b) 0.0000002 c)
54800
a) 1.5 x 10-2 b) 2 x 10-7 c) 5.48 x
104