(Système International d'Unites; International System of Units) A system of standard units of measurement finalized at the 14th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1971. It is based on seven units of measure, including three from the MKS system (meter-kilogram-second), the ampere for electrical current, the Kelvin for temperature, the candela for luminosity and the mole for molecular weight. See MKS system, amp, Kelvin, candela and mole.

   BASIC SI UNITS

   Quantity        Unit of Measurement
   length (l)      meter (m)
   mass (m)        kilogram (kg)
   time (t)        second (s)
   current (I)     ampere (A)
   temperature     kelvin (K)
   atomic weight   mole (mol)
   luminosity      candela (cd) 


   DERIVED SI UNITS

   Quantity             Unit of Measurement
   force (f)            newton (N)
   work (W)             joule (J)
   power (P)            watt (W)
   pressure (P)         pascal (pa)
   frequency (f)        Hertz (Hz)
   electric charge (Q)  coulomb (C)
   potential (V)        volt (V)
   capacitance (C)      Farad (F)
   resistance (R)       ohm