Metric System
What
is the Metric System?
The International System of Units,
abbreviated SI (for the French name Système International
d'Unités), is the most widely used system of units. Along
with the older cgs (centimetre, gram, second) system, SI is
commonly called the metric system.
The metric system can legally be used in every country in the world (including
the United States), and in many countries its use is obligatory.
Those countries that still give official recognition to non-SI
units (e.g. US, UK) also define those units in terms of SI
units.
The International System of
Units was adopted by the 11th General Conference on Weights and
Measures (CGPM) in 1960 and is built on the seven SI base units,
which are used to define various SI derived units. |
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Americans frequently spell 'metre'
as 'meter', and 'litre' as 'liter'; however 'metre' and
'litre' are the official BIPM names for these units (although
the American usage has been approved by the US government).
The official US spelling for 'deca' is 'deka', though
Americans use the international spelling more often than the
American one. The unit 'gram' is also sometimes spelled
'gramme', though that is an older spelling.
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