List of scientists whose names are used as units

Many scientists have been recognized with the assignment of their names as international units by the International Committee for Weights and Measures or as non-SI units. The International System of Units (abbreviated SI from ) is the most widely used system of units of measurement. There are 7 base units and 22 derived unitsEssential of the SI (excluding compound units). These units are used both in science and in commerce. Two of the base SI units and 17 of the derived units are named after scientists.Derived SI units with special names 28 non-SI units are named after scientists. By this convention, their names are immortalised. As a rule, the SI units are written in lowercase letters, but symbols of units derived from the name of a person begin with a capital letter.

Scientists and SI units Base unitThere are 5 base units that are not named after people: kilogram, metre, second, mole and candela. Derived unit (colour legend) NameAsimov's Biographical EncyclopediaElektrik Mühendisliği pp. 247–275LifeNationalityQuantityYoung and Freedman, p. A-1SI unitImageAndré-Marie Ampère|André-Marie Ampère1775–1836 FrenchElectric currentAmpere on Dictionaryampere (A) (Base unit) William Thomson, 1st Baron KelvinKelvin, Lord William Thomson1824–1907 British ( Scottish, Northern Irish)Thermodynamic temperaturekelvin (K) (Base unit)Blaise PascalBlaise Pascal1623–1662 FrenchPressurePa Pascal pressure unitpascal (Pa) Isaac NewtonIsaac Newton's life1643–1727 British ( English)ForceNewtonnewton (N)Anders CelsiusAnders Celsius (1701–1744)1701–1744 SwedishTemperatureCelsius Definitiondegree Celsius (°C)Charles-Augustin de CoulombCharles Augustin de Coulomb (French Physicist)1736–1806 FrenchElectric chargeCoulombcoulomb (C)James WattBBC Historic figures1736–1819 British ( Scottish)PowerWatt conversion)watt (W)Alessandro VoltaInventor Alessandro Volta Biography1745–1827 ItalianElectric potentialVoltvolt (V) Georg Simon Ohm1789–1855 GermanElectrical resistanceOhm (unit) ohm (Ω)Michael FaradayMichael Faraday1791–1867 British ( English)CapacitanceFarad farad (F)Joseph HenryJoseph Henry 1797–1878 AmericanInductanceHenry: Definition from Answershenry (H)Wilhelm Eduard WeberThe New International Encyclopaedia: Weber1804–1891 GermanMagnetic fluxWeber (unit)weber (Wb)Ernst Werner von SiemensSiemens, Werner von1816–1892 GermanConductanceSiemens (unit) siemens (S)James Prescott Joule1818–1889 British ( English)EnergyWhat is a Joule ?joule (J) Antoine Henri BecquerelHenri Becquerel1852–1908 FrenchRadioactivitybecquerel (Bq)Nikola TeslaTesla's Biography1856–1943 SerbianThe village he was born was a part of Austrian Empire, now it is in Croatia.-AmericanMagnetic flux densityTesla (unit)tesla (T)Heinrich Rudolf HertzHeinrich Hertz1857–1894 GermanFrequencyHertzhertz (Hz)Rolf Maximilian SievertRolf Sievert, the man and the unit1896–1966 SwedishDose equivalent of radiationsievert (Sv)Louis Harold GrayAbout L.G.Gray1905–1965 British ( English)Absorbed dose of radiationGraygray (Gy)

Scientists and non-SI units Name of the scientistIsaac Asimov: Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Pan Reference Books, London, 1972, Elektrik Mühendisliği, TBMMO Yayın organı, 259–260, Ankara, 1978 Life Nationality Quantity UnitAs a rule, the units are written in lowercase letters. But, symbols of units derived from a personal name always begin with a capital letter. ImageWilliam Gilbert 1544–1603 British ( English)Magnetomotive forcegilbert (Gi)John Napier1550–1617 British ( Scottish)Magnitude (ln, dimensionless)neper (Np)Galileo Galilei1564–1642 ItalianAccelerationgal (Gal)Evangelista Torricelli 1608–1647 ItalianPressure torr (Torr)René Réaumur 1683–1757 FrenchTemperaturedegree Reaumur (°R)Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit1686–1736 Polish, Dutch, GermanTemperaturedegree Fahrenheit (°F)Johann Heinrich Lambert 1728–1777 GermanLuminancelambert (L)John Dalton 1766–1844 BritishMass (atomic)dalton (Da)Hans Christian Ørsted1777–1851 DanishMagnetic fieldoersted (Oe)Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss 1777–1855 GermanMagnetic flux densitygauss (G)Michael Faraday1791–1867 British ( English)Electric chargefaraday (F)Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille 1797–1869 FrenchDynamic viscosity poise (P)Anders Jonas Ångström1814–1874 SwedishLengthangstrom (Å)Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet1818–1903 BritishKinematic viscositystokes (St) William John Macquorn Rankine1820–1872 British ( Scottish)Thermodynamic temperaturedegree Rankine (°Ra ) James Clerk Maxwell1831–1879 British ( Scottish)Magnetic fluxmaxwell (Mx)Samuel Pierpont Langley1834–1906 AmericanEnergy intensitylangley (Ly)Ernst Mach1838–1916 AustrianSpeedMach number (M)John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh1842–1919 BritishAcoustic impedanceraylWilhelm Röntgen1845–1923 GermanIonizing radiationröntgen (R) Alexander Graham Bell1847–1922 British ( Scottish), AmericanMagnitude (log10, dimensionless)bel (B) Loránd Eötvös1848–1919 HungarianGravitational gradienteotvos (E)Heinrich Kayser1853–1940 GermanWavenumberkayserJoseph John Thomson1856–1940 British ( English)Mass-to-charge ratiothomson (Th)Marie Curie Pierre Curie 1867–1934 1859–1906 Polish, FrenchRadioactivitycurie (Ci) Heinrich Mache1876–1954 AustrianRadioactivityMache (ME) Peter Debye1884–1966 DutchElectric dipole momentdebye (D)Karl Guthe Jansky1905–1950 AmericanSpectral irradiancejansky (JY)Wallace Clement Sabine1868–1919 AmericanSound absorptionsabin

See also List of chemical elements named after people List of scientists whose names are used in physical constants

References

Bibliography

External links Physical dimensions of the units