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
More from Standards & Units
Ordinal quantity
A quantity defined by an agreed procedure that can be ranked but has no meaningful algebra — Rockwell hardness or earthquake magnitude: order exists, differences and ratios do not.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.26
Intrinsic measurement standard
A standard based on an inherent and reproducible property of a phenomenon or substance — the triple point of water cell, the Josephson voltage standard.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 5.10
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.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.2
Quantity-value scale
The ordered set of values that quantities of a given kind may take — the scale a thermometer or hardness tester reports on.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.27
Off-system measurement unit
A unit that does not belong to the system of units in use — the day, the electronvolt, and the nautical mile relative to the SI.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.15
Submultiple of a unit
A unit obtained by dividing a given unit by an integer greater than one — the millimetre from the metre.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.18