Metric system
Metric System
The Metric System (pronunciation: /ˈmɛtrɪk ˈsɪstəm/) is an international decimal-based system of measurement. It is the most widely used system of measurement for scientific and everyday quantities. The system has been adopted by all countries in the world except for the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar.
Etymology
The term "Metric System" comes from the French Système international (d'unités) or SI, which means "International System (of Units)". The system was first proposed by the French mathematician Gabriel Mouton in 1670 and was officially adopted in France in 1795.
Units
The Metric System is based on three fundamental units: the meter for length, the kilogram for mass, and the second for time. Other units, such as the liter for volume, are derived from these fundamental units.
- Meter (pronunciation: /ˈmiːtər/): The meter is the base unit of length in the Metric System. It is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
- Kilogram (pronunciation: /ˈkɪləˌɡræm/): The kilogram is the base unit of mass in the Metric System. It is defined as the mass of the International Prototype of the Kilogram, a platinum-iridium cylinder kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France.
- Second (pronunciation: /ˈsɛkənd/): The second is the base unit of time in the Metric System. It is defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
Related Terms
- Decimal System: The Decimal System is a base-10 number system that forms the foundation of the Metric System.
- International System of Units: The International System of Units, or SI, is the modern form of the Metric System and is the most widely used system of measurement in the world.
- Imperial System: The Imperial System is a system of measurement that was commonly used in the British Empire and is still used in the United States.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Metric system
- Wikipedia's article - Metric system
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