List of physical quantities

Fundamental Quantities
Base quantity Symbol
Length Mass Time Electric current Temperature Amount of substance Luminous intensity l m t I T n L

Description
The one dimensional extent of an object. The amount of matter in an object. The duration of an event. Rate of flow of electrical charge. Average energy per degree of freedom of a system.

SI unit
metre (m) kilogram (kg) second (s) ampere (A) kelvin (K)

Symbol for dimension

L M T I N J

Number of particles compared to the number mole (mol) of atoms in 0.012 kg of 12C. Amount of energy emitted by a light source in candela a particular direction. (cd)

Derived Quantities
Derived quantity
Plane angle Solid angle Absorbed dose rate Acceleration Angular acceleration Angular speed (or angular velocity) Angular momentum Area Area density Capacitance Catalytic activity Catalytic activity concentration Chemical potential Molar concentration Current density Dose equivalent C J H a or L A A C

Symbol

Description
Measure of a change in direction or orientation. Measure of the size of an object as projected on a sphere. Absorbed dose received per unit of time. Rate of change of the speed or velocity of an object. Rate of change in angular speed or velocity. The angle incremented in a plane by a segment connecting an object and a reference point. Measure of the extent and direction and object rotates about a reference point. The two dimensional extent of an object.

SI units
radian (rad) steradian (sr) Gy s1 m s2 rad s2 rad s1 kg m2 s1 m2

Dimension
1 1 L2 T3 L T2 T2 T1 M L2 T1 L2 M L2

The amount of mass per unit area of a two kg m2 dimensional object. Measure for the amount of stored charge for a given potential.

farad (F = A2 2 4 1 2 I T M L s4 kg1 m2) N T1 N L3 T1 M L2 T2 N1 N L3 I L2 L2 T2

Change in reaction rate due to presence of katal (kat = a catalyst. mol s1) Change in reaction rate due to presence of kat m3 a catalyst per unit volume of the system. The amount of energy needed to add a particle to a system. Amount of substance per unit volume. J mol1 mol m3

Amount of electric current flowing through A m2 a surface. Measure for the received amount of sievert (Sv = radiation adjusted for the effect of different 2 2 m s ) types of radiant on biological tissue.

Derived quantity
Dynamic Viscosity Electric Charge(E.C.) E C density Electric displacement Electric field strength Electrical conductance Electric potential Electrical resistance Energy Energy density Entropy Force Impulse Frequency Half-life Heat Heat capacity Heat flux density Illuminance

Symbol
Q Q D E G

Description
Measure for the resistance of an incompressible fluid to stress. Amount of electric charge.

SI units
Pa s coulomb (C = A s)

Dimension
M L1 T1 IT I T L3 I T L2 M L T3 I1

Amount of electric charge per unit volume C m3 Strength of the electric displacement. Strength of the electric field. Meausure for how easily current flows through a material. The amount of work required to bring a unit charge into an electric field from infinity. C m2 V m1

siemens (S = A2 s3 kg1 L2 M1 T3 I2 m2) volt (V = kg m2 A1 s3) L2 M T3 I1 L2 M T3 I2 M L2 T2 M L1 T2 M L2 T2 1 M L T2 M L T1 T1 T M L2 T2 M L2 T2 1 M T3 J L2

V R E E S F p f t1/2 Q Cp Q Ev

The degree to which an object opposes the ohm ( = kg passage of an electric current. m2 A2 s3) The capacity of a body or system to do work. Amount of energy per unit volume. joule (J = kg m2 s2) J m3

Measure for the amount of available states J K1 for a system. The cause of acceleration, acting on an object. The cause of a change in momentum, acting on an object. newton (N = kg m s2) kg m s1

The number of times something happens in hertz (Hz a period of time. =s1) The time needed for a quantity to decay to s half its original value. Amount of energy transferred between systems due to temperature difference. Amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a system by one degree. J J K1

Amount of heat flowing through a surface W m2 per unit area. Total luminous flux incident to a surface per unit area. lux (lx = cd sr m2)

Derived quantity
Impedance Index of refraction Inductance Irradiance Linear density Luminous flux (or luminous power) Magnetic field strength Magnetic flux Magnetic flux density Magnetization Mass fraction (Mass) Density (volume density) Mean lifetime Molar energy Molar entropy Molar heat capacity Moment of inertia Momentum Permeability

Symbol
Z n L E l F H B M x

Description
Measure for the resistance of an electrical circuit against an alternating current. The factor by which the speed of light is reduce in a medium.

SI units
ohm ( = kg m2 A2 s3)

Dimension
L2 M T3 I2 1

Measure for the amount of magnetic flux henry (H = generated for a certain current run through M L2 T2 I2 kg m2 A2 s2) a circuit. Power of electromagnetic radiation flowing through a surface per unit area. Amount of mass per unit length of a one dimensional object. Perceived power of a light source. Strength of a magnetic field in a material. lumen (lm = cd sr) A m1 W m2 M T2 M L1 J I L1

Measure of quantity of magnetism, taking weber (Wb = account of the strength and the extent of a M L2 T2 I1 kg m2 A1 s2) magnetic field. Measure for the strength of the magnetic field. Amount of magnetic moment per unit volume. Mass of a substance as a fraction of the total mass. The amount of mass per unit volume of a three dimensional object. Average time needed for a particle to decay. Amount of energy present is a system per unit amount of substance. tesla (T = kg A1 s2) A m1 kg/kg kg m3 s J mol1 M T2 I1 I L1 1 M L3 T M L2 T2 N1 M L2 T2 1 N1 M L2 T2 N1 M L2 M L T1 M L1 I2

Amount of entropy present in a system per J K1 mol1 unit amount of substance. c I p Heat capacity of a material per unit amount J K1 mol1 of substance. Inertia of an object with respect to angular kg m2 acceleration. Product of an object's mass and velocity. Ns Measure for how the magnetization of H m1 material is affected by the application of an

Derived quantity

Symbol

Description
external magnetic field.

SI units

Dimension

Permittivity Power Pressure (Radioactive) Activity (Radioactive) Dose

P p A D

Measure for how the polarization of a material is affected by the application of an F m1 external electric field. The rate of change in energy over time. Amount of force per unit area. Number of particles decaying per unit time. Amount of energy absorbed by biological tissue from ionizing radiation per unit mass. watt (W) pascal (Pa = kg m1 s2) becquerel (Bq = s1) gray (unit) (Gy = m2 s2)

I2 M1 L2 T4 M L2 T3 M L1 T2 T1 L2 T2

Radiance Radiant intensity Reaction rate Speed Specific energy Specific heat capacity Specific volume Spin Stress Surface tension Thermal conductivity Torque (moment of force) Velocity Volume

L I r v

Power of emitted electromagnetic radiation per solid angle and per projected source W m2 sr1 area. Power of emitted electromagnetic radiation W sr1 per solid angle. Measure for speed of a chemical reaction. Amount of energy present per unit mass. mol m3 s1 J kg1 J kg1 K1 m3 kg1 kg m2 s1 Pa N m1 or J m2 Rate of change of the position of an object. m s1

M T3 M L2 T3 N L3 T1 L T1 L2 T2 L2 T2 1 L3 M1 M L2 T1 M L1 T2 M T2 M L1 T3 1 M L2 T2 L T1 L3

c v S k v V

Heat capacity per unit mass. The volume occupied by a unit mass of material (reciprocal of density). Intrinsic property of particles, roughly to be interpreted as the intrinsic angular momentum of the particle. Amount of force exerted per surface area. Amount of work needed to change the surface of a liquid by a unit surface area.

Measure for the ease with which a material W m1 K1 conducts heat. Product of a force and the perpendicular distance of the force from the point about which it is exerted. Speed of an object in a chosen direction. Nm m s1

The three dimensional extent of an object. m3

Derived quantity
Wavelength Wavenumber Weight Work

Symbol
k w W

Description
Distance between repeating units of a propagating wave. Reciprocal of the wavelength. m

SI units

Dimension
L L1 M L T2 M L2 T2

m1

Amount of gravitation force exerted on an newton (N = object. kg m s2) Energy dissipated by a force moving over a distance, scalar product of the force and the movement vector. joule (J = kg m2 s2)