Mole (unit) Mole (unit) The mole is the unit of measurement for amount of substance in the International System of Units (SI). Effective 20 May 2019, the mole is defined as the amount of a chemical substance that contains exactly (Avogadro's constant) constitutive particles, e.g., atoms, molecules, ions or electrons. This definition was adopted in November of 2018, revising its old definition based on the number of atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12 (C) (the isotope of carbon with standard atomic weight 12 by definition). The mole is an SI base unit, with the unit symbol mol. The mole is widely used
Arbitrary unit only serves to compare multiple measurements performed in similar environment, since the ratio between the measurement and the reference is a consistent and dimensionless quantity independent of what actual units are used. Units of such kind are commonly used in fields such as physiology to indicate substance concentration, and spectroscopy to express spectral intensity. When the reference measurement is precisely defined and internationally agreed upon, arbitrary units can also be a unit capable of public comparison. One example of a publicly defined arbitrary unit is the WHO International Unit. Abbreviations for "arbitrary unit" include: arb. unit, arb. u., AU, and