Dictionary · Standards & Units
Reference data
Data related to a property of a phenomenon, body, or substance — or to a system of components of known composition or structure — obtained from an identified source, critically evaluated, and verified for accuracy.
Related terms
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Reference quantity value
A quantity value used as a basis for comparison with values of quantities of the same kind — a true value, a conventional value, or a standard's certified value, depending on context.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 5.18
International System of Quantities (ISQ)
The system of quantities based on the seven base quantities: length, mass, time, electric current, thermodynamic temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity — the quantity framework beneath the SI.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.6
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
Quantity of dimension one
A quantity whose dimension has all base-quantity exponents equal to zero — refractive index, strain, a ratio of like quantities; often loosely called "dimensionless".
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.8
Ordinal quantity-value scale
A quantity-value scale for ordinal quantities, established by agreement on a procedure — comparisons of order are valid, arithmetic on the values is not.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.28
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