History and Measurement of the Base and Derived Units

This book discusses how and why historical measurement units developed, and reviews useful methods for making conversions as well as situations in which dimensional analysis can be used. A companion computer conversion module is also available for the book, which includes both modern and historical measurement units.

It starts from the history of length measurement, which is one of the oldest measures used by humans. It highlights the importance of area measurement, briefly discussing the methods for determining areas mathematically and by measurement. The book includes seven SI/metric base units as well as a number of other units that have historically been used as base units.

Providing a comprehensive reference for interconversion among the commonly measured quantities in the different measurement systems with engineering accuracy, it also examines the relationships between base units in fields such as mechanical/thermal, electromagnetic and physical flow rates and fluxes using diagrams.