Metric Unit Symbols The international system of units, internationally known by the abbreviation si (from french système international d'unités), is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. coordinated by the international bureau of weights and measures (abbreviated bipm from french: bureau international des. Larger and smaller multiples of that unit are made by adding si prefixes. this page shows the most commonly used units, symbols, and prefixes, and some other basic information to start using it as quickly as possible. for more details, see detailed list of metric system units and symbols and si prefixes and their etymologies. contents. units.
Metric Unit Symbols Eight original si prefixes were officially adopted: deca, hecto, kilo, myria, deci, centi, milli, and myrio, derived from greek and latin numbers. initially, all prefixes were represented by lowercase symbols. 8. 1889. the first general conference on weights and measures (cgpm) approves the 8 prefixes for use. 8. ‡ the symbol “l” is preferred for use in the us, canada, and australia. § the terms tonne and “metric ton” are restricted to commercial usage; the si equivalent is the megagram. the term “metric ton” is preferred for use in the us. units in use temporarily with the si. A metric prefix is a unit prefix that precedes a basic unit of measure to indicate a multiple or submultiple of the unit. all metric prefixes used today are decadic. each prefix has a unique symbol that is prepended to any unit symbol. the prefix kilo , for example, may be added to gram to indicate multiplication by one thousand: one kilogram. E.g. 10 000 metres can be expressed as 10 kilometres by combining the prefix ‘kilo’ (meaning 1000) with the unit name ‘metre’. symbols. in addition to names, each unit and prefix in the metric system has a unique symbol. unlike abbreviations, symbols are independent of language and alphabet, and can be universally understood.
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