SI base unit SI base unit The International System of Units (SI) defines seven units of measure as a basic set from which all other SI units can be derived. The SI base units and their physical quantities are the meter for measurement of length, the kilogram for mass, the second for time, the ampere for electric current, the kelvin for temperature, the candela for luminous intensity, and the mole for amount of substance. The SI base units form a set of mutually independent dimensions as required by dimensional analysis commonly employed in science and technology. The names and symbols of SI base
History of the metric system the Treaty of the Metre was extended to cover electrical units with the CGPM merging its work with that of the IEC. The twentieth century history of measurement is marked by five periods: the 1901 definition of the coherent MKS system; the intervening 50 years of coexistence of the MKS, cgs and common systems of measures; the 1948 "Practical system of units" prototype of the SI; the introduction of the SI in 1960; and the evolution of the SI in the latter half century. The need for an orthogonal electromagnetic unit to resolve the difficulties of defining such units in