IEEE Std 260.1-2004 was a standard from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers that provided standard letter symbols for units of measurement for use in all applications in multiple contexts. It has been withdrawn. [1]
It covers primarily SI units and customary inch–pound units. The symbols are sorted in alphabetical order of name from ampere (symbol A) to zetta (symbol Z), including barrel (symbol bbl), bit (symbol b), foot (symbol ft), inch (symbol in), microinch (symbol μin), kibibyte (symbol KiB), kilowatthour (symbol kWh), quart (symbol qt), slug (symbol slug) and year (symbol a). In some cases the same symbol is used for different units. Examples are the symbols B (for bel and byte), Gb (for gigabit and gilbert), L (for liter and lambert) and rad (for rad and radian).
A binary prefix is a unit prefix that indicates a multiple of a unit of measurement by an integer power of two. The most commonly used binary prefixes are kibi (symbol Ki, meaning 210 = 1024), mebi (Mi, 220 = 1048576), and gibi (Gi, 230 = 1073741824). They are most often used in information technology as multipliers of bit and byte, when expressing the capacity of storage devices or the size of computer files.
The inch is a unit of length in the British Imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to 1/36 yard or 1/12 of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelfth"), the word inch is also sometimes used to translate similar units in other measurement systems, usually understood as deriving from the width of the human thumb.
The litre or liter is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A cubic decimetre occupies a volume of 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm and is thus equal to one-thousandth of a cubic metre.
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in both the British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally defined as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms, and which is divided into 16 avoirdupois ounces. The international standard symbol for the avoirdupois pound is lb; an alternative symbol is lbm, #, and ℔ or ″̶.
The tonne is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton and the long ton. It is equivalent to approximately 2,204.6 pounds, 1.102 short tons, and 0.984 long tons. The official SI unit is the megagram (Mg), a less common way to express the same amount.
United States customary units form a system of measurement units commonly used in the United States and most U.S. territories, since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States customary system developed from English units that were in use in the British Empire before the U.S. became an independent country. The United Kingdom's system of measures was overhauled in 1824 to create the imperial system, which was officially adopted in 1826, changing the definitions of some of its units. Consequently, while many U.S. units are essentially similar to their imperial counterparts, there are noticeable differences between the systems.
The pound of force or pound-force is a unit of force used in some systems of measurement, including English Engineering units and the foot–pound–second system.
The cubic inch is a unit of volume in the Imperial units and United States customary units systems. It is the volume of a cube with each of its three dimensions being one inch long which is equivalent to 1/231 of a US gallon.
The pint is a unit of volume or capacity in both the imperial and United States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems it is traditionally one eighth of a gallon. The British imperial pint is about 20% larger than the American pint because the two systems are defined differently. Almost all other countries have standardized on the metric system, so although some of them still also have traditional units called pints, the volume varies by regional custom.
The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non-metric) unit of volume, used in the United States and the United Kingdom. It is defined as the volume of a cube with sides of one foot in length. Its volume is 28.3168 L.
A cubic yard is an Imperial / U.S. customary unit of volume, used in Canada and the United States. It is defined as the volume of a cube with sides of 1 yard in length.
The foot-pound force is a unit of work or energy in the engineering and gravitational systems in United States customary and imperial units of measure. It is the energy transferred upon applying a force of one pound-force (lbf) through a linear displacement of one foot. The corresponding SI unit is the joule, though in terms of energy, one joule is not equal to one foot-pound.
A barrel is one of several units of volume applied in various contexts; there are dry barrels, fluid barrels, oil barrels, and so forth. For historical reasons the volumes of some barrel units are roughly double the volumes of others; volumes in common use range approximately from 100 to 200 litres. In many connections the term drum is used almost interchangeably with barrel.
Metrication is the process of introducing the International System of Units, also known as SI units or the metric system, to replace a jurisdiction's traditional measuring units. U.S. customary units have been defined in terms of metric units since the 19th century, and the SI has been the "preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce" since 1975 according to United States law. However, conversion was not mandatory and many industries chose not to convert, and U.S. customary units remain in common use in many industries as well as in governmental use. There is government policy and metric (SI) program to implement and assist with metrication, however there is major social resistance for further metrication.
The slug is a derived unit of mass in a weight-based system of measures, most notably within the British Imperial measurement system and the United States customary measures system. Systems of measure either define mass and derive a force unit or define a base force and derive a mass unit. A slug is defined as a mass that is accelerated by 1 ft/s2 when a net force of one pound (lbf) is exerted on it.
IEEE 1541-2002 is a standard issued in 2002 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) concerning the use of prefixes for binary multiples of units of measurement related to digital electronics and computing. IEEE 1541-2021 revises and supersedes IEEE 1541–2002, which is 'inactive'.
The foot–pound–second system is a system of units built on three fundamental units: the foot for length, the (avoirdupois) pound for either mass or force, and the second for time.
A unit of measurement, or unit of measure, is a definite magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other quantity of that kind can be expressed as a multiple of the unit of measurement.
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch, is a unit of measurement of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units. It is the pressure resulting from a force with magnitude of one pound-force applied to an area of one square inch. In SI units, 1 psi is approximately 6,895 pascals.
The imperial and US customary measurement systems are both derived from an earlier English system of measurement which in turn can be traced back to Ancient Roman units of measurement, and Carolingian and Saxon units of measure.