List of physical quantities

Note that the dimensions chosen as the primary dimensions is arbitrary and dependent upon the choice of units used. The dimensional analysis here is based on the base units of the International System of Units. Other dimensions such as force [F] rather than mass [M], or charge [Q] rather than current [I], could be used. Even the number of dimensions used is not a fixed, invariable number. In a three-base unit cgs system, for example, the units of charge are erg^½ cm^½ and the dimensional analysis of this quantity in terms of the quantities represented by the base units is [M]^½ [L] [T]^-1, whereas in the analysis below charge has units of [I] [T]. Also note that the symbols are not International Standards and may be used differently than shown here. However, these symbols are often used in the science community.

Base Physical Quantity	Symbol	Meaning	Dimensions in SI	SI unit
Length	l	The one dimensional extent of an object	L	metre (m)
Mass	m	The amount of matter in an object	M	kilogram (kg)
Time	t	The duration of an event	T	second (s)
Current	I	The rate of flow of electrical charge	I	ampere (A)
Temperature	T	.	Θ	kelvin (K)
Amount of substance	n	Number of particles compared to number of atoms in 0.012 kg C¹²	...	mol (mol)
Luminous intensity	L		...	candela (cd)
Derived Physical Quantity	Symbol	Meaning	Dimensions	SI unit
Area	A	The two dimensional extent of an object	L²	square metre
Angle	θ	.	one	radian (rad)
Solid angle	.	.	one	steradian (sr)
Volume	V	The three dimensional extent of an object	L³	cubic metre
Linear density	ρ_l	The amount of mass per unit length of a 1-dimensional object	M L^-1	kilogram per metre
Area density	ρ_A	The amount of mass per unit area of a 2-dimensional object	M L^-2	kilogram per square metre
(Volume) Density	ρ	The amount of mass per unit volume of a 3-dimensional object	M L^-3	kilogram per cubic metre
Speed	v	The rate of change of position of an object	L T^-1	metre per second
Acceleration	a	The rate of change of speed of an object	L T^-2	metre per second squared
Momentum	p	The product of an object's mass and its velocity	M L T^-1	kilogram metre per second or newton second
Impulse	p	The product of a force and the time over which it acts	M L T^-1	kilogram metre per second or newton second
Force	F	That which causes or tends to cause acceleration in an object with mass	M L T^-2	newton = kilogram metre per second squared
Work	W	The energy dissipated by a force moving through a distance, and calculated from the product of the force and the distance moved in the direction of the force	M L² T^-2	joule = newton metre
Energy	E	The capacity of a body or system to do work	M L² T^-2	joule = newton metre
Kinetic energy	E_k	The energy that a body possesses by virtue of its speed or velocity	M L² T^-2	joule = newton metre
Potential energy	E_p	The energy that a body possesses by virtue of its position in a potential field	M L² T^-2	joule = newton metre
Power	P	The rate of change of energy over time	M L² T^-3	watt = joule per second
Pressure	p	The amount of force per unit area	M L^-1 T^-2	pascal = newton per square metre
Electric Charge	Q	.	I T	coulomb = ampere second
Moment	.	.	?	.
Torque	T	.	M L² T^-2	newton metre
Phase angle	.	.	one	radian
Wavelength	λ	.	L	metre
Frequency	f	.	T^-1	hertz
Angular speed	.	.	T^-1	radian per second
Angular velocity	.	.	T^-1	radian per second
Angular acceleration	.	.	T^-2	radian per second squared
Moment of inertia	I	.	M L²	kilogram metre squared
Area moment of inertia	.	.	L⁴
Angular momentum	.	.	?	.
Rotational energy or Angular kinetic energy	.	.	?	.
Magnetic flux	.	measure of quantity of magnetism, taking account of the strength and the extent of a magnetic field	M T^-2 I^-1	tesla

Some further Physical Quantities yet to be incorporated into the above table

(list incomplete)

Categories: Physics lists | Physical quantity

Last updated: 08-21-2005 09:40:31

List of physical quantities - Your Art History Reference Guide!

List of physical quantities

List of physical quantities

Some further Physical Quantities yet to be incorporated into the above table