Dictionary · Standards & Units
Kind of quantity
The aspect common to mutually comparable quantities — length, mass, and energy are kinds; diameter and wavelength are both quantities of the kind length.
Related terms
More from Standards & Units
Multiple of a unit
A unit obtained by multiplying a given unit by an integer greater than one — the kilometre from the metre.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.17
Travelling measurement standard
A standard, sometimes of special construction, intended for transport between locations — the artifacts that carry interlaboratory comparisons.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 5.8
Numerical quantity value
The number in a quantity value — the 5.34 in 5.34 m: the ratio of the quantity to its unit.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.20
Certified reference material (CRM)
A reference material accompanied by documentation issued by an authoritative body providing property values with uncertainties and traceability using valid procedures — per ISO 17034 practice.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 5.14
Transfer measurement device
A device used as an intermediary to compare measurement standards — transferring, not holding, the quantity value.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 5.9
Conversion factor between units
The ratio of two units for quantities of the same kind — 25.4 mm/in; the numerical value changes, the quantity does not.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.24