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International System of Units (SI)
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International System of Units (SI)
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This page describes additional standards, references, and guides published by various standards organizations that provide “official” information about the use of SI, the International System of Units. (We assume you have already read the the main reference publications page.)
Some of the publications described on this page are rather expensive; others cover specialized areas. As a result, they're worth knowing about but are less likely to be of general interest. And note that there are hundreds of metric-related standards; here we list only a few.
To order copies of these publications, use the links provided herein; these publications are not available directly from USMA unless otherwise noted. Prices are, of course, subject to change; visit the vendors for current prices. To discover the meaning of any unrecognized acronyms, try USMA's glossary of metric acronyms.
This notice from NIST, published in the 16 May 2008 Federal Register, announces that two NIST Special Publications—SP 330 and SP 811—serve as the U.S. interpretation of SI, and refers the reader to them.
Technically speaking, this document answers the question, Where is the legal announcement of the U.S. interpretation of SI? Read the Federal Register notice for details, but note that it does not contain the interpretation; rather, it is a cross reference to the aforementioned publications, listed on our main SI publications page, which provide the actual interpretation.
NIST's Metric Style Guide, although no longer available in its original form, is available for online viewing.
This 30-page PDF is a 1993 standard issued by the General Services Administration.
The parts of the ISO 80000 series of standards describe various quantities and units; in general, they replace corresponding parts of the older ISO 31 series listed below. At this writing, the following parts are available:
ISO 80000-3:2006 Quantities and units — Part 3: Space and time gives names, symbols and definitions for quantities and units of space and time. It is available from ANSI for $98.
ISO 80000-4:2006 Quantities and units — Part 4: Mechanics specifies the names, symbols and definitions for quantities and units of classical mechanics. It is available from ANSI for $110.
ISO 80000-5:2007 Quantities and units — Part 5: Thermodynamics gives names, symbols and definitions for quantities and units of thermodynamics. It is available from ANSI for $104.
ISO 80000-8:2008 Quantities and units — Part 8: Acoustics (ISO 80000-8:2007, corrected 2007-08-15) gives names, symbols, and definitions for quantities and units of acoustics. It is available from ANSI for $90.
The parts of the ISO 31 series of standards describe various quantities and units. ISO 31 is gradually being replaced by ISO 80000, above; following are the parts of ISO 31 that exist at this writing.
ISO 31-0:1992 Quantities and units — Part 0: General principles gives general information about principles concerning physical quantities, equations, quantity and unit symbols, and coherent unit systems, especially the International System of Units, SI, including recommendations for printing symbols and numbers. Annex A includes a guide to terms used in names for physical quantities, Annex B a guide to the rounding of numbers, Annex C international organizations in the field of quantities and units. It is available from ANSI for $104. Also available are Amendment 1, related to the elimination of SI supplementary units, for $16, and Amendment 2, revising the definition of the decimal point, for $16.
ISO 31-6:1992 Quantities and units — Part 6: Light and related electromagnetic radiations gives name, symbol and definition for 57 quantities and units pertaining to light and related electromagnetic radiations. It is available from ANSI for $98. Also available is Amendment 1 for $16.
ISO 31-8:1992 Quantities and units — Part 8: Physical chemistry and molecular physics is available from ANSI for $110. Also available is Amendment 1 for $16.
ISO 31-9:1992 Quantities and units — Part 9: Atomic and nuclear physics gives name, symbol and definition for 51 quantities and units of atomic and nuclear physics. It is available from ANSI for $98. Also available is Amendment 1 for $16.
ISO 31-10:1992 Quantities and units — Part 10: Nuclear reactions and ionizing radiations is available from ANSI for $110. Also available is Amendment 1 for $16.
ISO 31-11:1992 Quantities and units — Part 11: Mathematical signs and symbols for use in the physical sciences and technology gives general information about mathematical signs and symbols, their meanings, verbal equivalents, printing, notation of scalars, vectors and tensors and applications. It is available from ANSI for $116.
ISO 31-12:1992 Quantities and units — Part 12: Characteristic numbers gives the name, symbol and definition for 25 selected characteristic numbers used for the description of transport phenomena. It is available from ANSI for $49. Also available is Amendment 1 for $16.
ISO 31-13:1992 Quantities and units — Part 13: Solid state physics gives the name, symbol and definition for 62 quantities and units of solid state physics. It is available from ANSI for $92. Also available is Amendment 1 for $16.
This International Standard describes the International System of Units; recommends selected decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units for general use and gives certain other units which may be used with the International System of Units; and quotes the definitions of the SI base units.
ISO 1000 is available from ANSI for $104; Amendment 1, which removes the concept of “supplementary units,” is also available for $16.
This 2001 standard is available for $60 from ANSI or from the American Welding Society.
This 96-page Canadian standard, issued in 2000, is available from the Canadian Standards Association for C$50 electronically or for C$55 as hardcopy.
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Updated: 2008-08-07