Measurement Units Standards & Services Department

 

Base Units Definition

Unit
Symbol
Definition
meter
m
The meter is the length of the path traveled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second
kilogram
kg
The kilogram is the unit of mass, it is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram
second
s
The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the Cesium 133 atom
ampere
A

The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed 1 meter a part in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2E-7 newton's per meter of length.

kelvin
K
The kelvin , unit of thermodynamic temperature, is the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water
candela
cd
The candela is the luminous intensity , in a given direction of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540E12 hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian
mole
mol

The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram of Carbon 12 .

Note: When the mole is used, the elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of such particles.