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Dimensions NOTES

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30 views1 page

Dimensions NOTES

Uploaded by

sharmagunika123
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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UNITS AND DIMENSIONS

 Dimensions of a Physical Quantity- these are powers (or exponents) to which the
fundamental quantities must be raised to represent the quantity completely
 Dimensional Formula- the expression which shows how and which fundamental
quantities represent the dimensions of a physical quantity is called the dimensional
formula of a given quantity
 Dimensional Equation- It is obtained by equating a physical quantity with its
dimensional formula
 Dimensional Variables- Quantities which possess dimensions and have variable
values. ex- area, volume, velocity, force
 Dimensionless Variables- Quantities which have no dimensions but have variable
values. ex- angle, strain
 Dimensional Constants- Quantities which possess dimensions and have variable
values. ex- gravitational constant, Planck’s constant
 Dimensionless Constants- Quantities having no dimension. ex- π , e
 The magnitude of physical quantity remains same, whatever be the system of units
 Principle of Homogeneity of Dimensions- According to this principle, a physical
equation will be dimensionally correct if the dimensions of all terms occurring on
both sides of the equation are same
 Applications of Dimensional Analysis-
1. To convert a physical quantity from one system of units to another.
2. To check the correctness of a given physical quantity
3. To derive a relationship between different physical quantities
 Limitations of Dimensional Analysis-
1. The method does not give any information about dimensionless constants
2. It fails when a physical quantity depends on more than 3 physical quantities
3. It fails when a physical quantity is a sum or difference of 2 or more different
quantities
4. It fails to derive relationship which involve trigonometric, logarithmic or
exponential functions
5. It is sometimes difficult to identify the factors on which the physical quantity
depends. The method becomes more difficult when dimensional constants
like G or h are used.

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