Developments of the History

of the International Systems

of Units (SI) starting from the
ancient Egyptians (2750 B.C.)
The International System of Units

• This is a complete system of measurement units

including names and symbols for base units from
which derived units may be formed so that any
physical quantity may be expressed.
• Finally, the precise basis for its units, and the
symbols for expressing them, have received
worldwide agreement.
There are seven base units of SI
 A Short History of
Measurement

• The Egyptian workers

built the pyramid with
precise and exacting
engineering standards

• In the ancient Egyptian

civilization, experts in
planning and
construction emerged.
- A Short History of Measurement

Cubit
The ‘Cubit’ was the first recorded
standard linear measurement.
Defined by the distance from the tip
of the forefinger to the middle of the
elbow

Cubit( 21inch) was used by

Egyptians for building pyramids
(2750 B.C.)
Mean error in length of sides of
Khufu Pyramid at Gizeh in Eqypt
was 1.5mm
 Hand
The Cubit was subdivided into several other
measurements. One hand is measured with
the fingers closed and from end of the
thumb to the other end of the palm

The Height of a horse is still

measured in hands today.
1 hand = 4 inches = 101.6mm
 Foot
History believes that the foot was
given its name from the human
body part. The length of a
human foot was measured from
the heel to the tip of the big toe.
From Egyptians through the
Greeks and Romans to present
day the length of one foot has
increased considerably.
This is caused by the use of the
foot in building and as time
developed the use of measuring
with boots on feet has increased
the size of one foot

Today 1 Foot = 12 inches = 304.8 mm

 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 derived units
Derived units are units which may be expressed in terms of
base units by means of the mathematical symbols of
multiplication and division. Certain derived units have been
given special names and symbols, and these special names and
symbols may themselves be used in combination with those for
base and other derived units to express the units of other
quantities.

Supplementary Units
Two more essential units are included in the system,
but agreement could not be reached whether these were
base or derived.
Plane angle (rad)
Solid angle
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

Watt per metre squared W/m2
area)
Prefixes of SI Units
Examples of modern
measurement tools
 References
• http://www.me.utexas.edu/~me302/classnotes/ME-intro_files/frame.htm
• http://www.kids.net.au/encyclopedia-wiki/me/Mechanical_Engineering
• http://www.discoverengineering.org/cool_things/cd/index.asp
• http://www.discoverengineering.org/Engineers
• http://www.engcen.com/
• http://thinkbig.tamu.edu/
• http://www.wikepedia.com
• http://www.abe.iastate.edu
• http://www.collegegrad.com
• http://careerservices.rutgers.edu/

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