Dictionary · Standards & Units
Quantity
A property of a phenomenon, body, or substance to which a magnitude can be assigned and expressed as a number and a reference (typically a measurement unit).
Related terms
More from Standards & Units
Derived unit
A measurement unit for a derived quantity, formed as a product of powers of base units — the newton (kg·m·s⁻²) or the pascal (N/m²).
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.11
Conservation of a measurement standard
The set of operations necessary to preserve the metrological properties of a standard within stated limits — storage, handling, surveillance, and use discipline.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 5.11
National measurement standard
A standard recognized by national authority to serve, in a state or economy, as the basis for assigning values to other standards of the same kind.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 5.3
Working measurement standard
A standard used routinely to calibrate or verify instruments or systems, itself usually calibrated against a reference standard.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 5.7
Base unit
A measurement unit adopted by convention for a base quantity — in the SI: second, metre, kilogram, ampere, kelvin, mole, candela.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.10
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