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Changes in the SI from Its Introduction (1960) to the Explicit-Constant Revision (2019)

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A Brief History of the Metric System

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science ((BRIESFHISTCHEM))

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Abstract

After the introduction of the SI in 1960, some of the base units were redefined in terms of more stable standards or more precise measurement techniques. The biggest change in the system in its early years, though, was the addition of a seventh base unit, the mole, by the 14th CGPM (Conférence générale des poids et mesures, or General Conference of Weights and Measures) in 1971. A thorough revision of the SI was approved by the 26th CGPM in 2018, taking effect in 2019. The revision expressed all of the SI base units by fixing the values of such fundamental constants of nature as the speed of light and the Planck constant, resulting in today’s explicit-constant SI.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Perrin’s phrase was constante d’Avogadro, but I will report his (dimensionless) estimates as Avogadro’s number, making the distinction between the terms that arose after his time.

  2. 2.

    Page numbers in this paragraph refer to the English translation [22].

  3. 3.

    A steradian is a measure of solid angle.

  4. 4.

    “Avogadro’s number” is used more frequently than “Avogadro number”—or “Avogadro constant” or “Avogadro’s constant” for that matter.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Carmen J. Giunta

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Giunta, C.J. (2023). Changes in the SI from Its Introduction (1960) to the Explicit-Constant Revision (2019). In: A Brief History of the Metric System. SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28436-6_5

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