Chapter List

Overview

The International System of Units (SI) is the modern form of the metric system agreed at an international conference in 1960. It has been adopted by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and its use is recommended wherever the metric system is applied. It is now being adopted throughout most of the world and is likely to remain the primary world system of units of measurement for a very long time. The indications are that SI units will supersede the units of existing metric systems and all systems based on Imperial units.

SI units and the rales for their application are contained in ISO Resolution R 1000 (1969, updated 1973) and an informatory document SI- Le Syst me International d' Unit s, published by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). An abridged version of the former is given in British Standards Institution (BSI) publication PD 5686 The Use of SI Units (1969, updated 1973) and BS 3763 International System ( SI) Units; BSI (1964) incorporates information from the BIPM document.

The adoption of SI presents less...