MKS system of units

For a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of the metric system.

The MKS system of units is a physical system of units that expresses any given measurement using fundamental units of the metre, kilogram, and/or second (MKS).[1] In 1901, Giovanni Giorgi proposed to the Associazione elettrotecnica italiana (AEI) that this system, extended with a fourth unit to be taken from the units of electromagnetism, be used as an international system.[2]

Historically the use of the MKS system of units succeeded the centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS) in commerce and engineering. The metre and kilogram system served as the basis for the development of the International System of Units, which now serves as the international standard. Because of this, the standards of the CGS system were gradually replaced with metric standards incorporated from the MKS system.[3] The exact composition of the MKS system changed over time. It incorporated fundamental units other than the metre, kilogram, and second in addition to derived units. An incomplete list of the fundamental and derived units appears below. Since the MKS system of units never had a governing body to rule on a standard definition, the list of units depended on different conventions at different times.


  1. ↑ W., Weisstein, Eric. "MKS -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Physics". scienceworld.wolfram.com. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  2. ↑ Giovanni Giorgi (1901), "Unità Razionali de Elettromagnetismo", in Atti dell' Associazione Elettrotecnica Italiana.
  3. ↑ "Units: CGS and MKS". www.unc.edu. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  4. ↑ "Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society". 76 (3). 1936: 343–377. JSTOR 984549.

See also

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