Quantities and units
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Write a physical dimension after :. Products, quotients and exact rational powers of SI
base symbols describe dimensions; numerical declaration values use the corresponding
coherent SI units. The symbols are kg, m, s, A, K, mol and cd; 1 is
dimensionless. A dimension alias abbreviates a dimension, not a value conversion.
dimension Pressure = kg / (m * s ^ 2);model PressureInput(parameter pressure: Pressure = 210e9) { variable measured: Pressure; relation specified { measured - pressure = 0; }}Here 210e9 is 210,000,000,000 Pa, or 210 GPa. The alias Pressure does not rescale
the number. To enter 10 ms, write parameter duration: s = 10 [ms];, or use the coherent
value 0.01. Explicit compatible units convert to the declared dimension.
Bare numeric declaration initializers inherit its coherent unit; arbitrary
expressions and instance bindings do not inherit units.
| Physical quantity | Dimension spelling |
|---|---|
| Pressure or stress, Pa | kg / (m * s ^ 2) |
| Voltage, V | kg * m ^ 2 / (s ^ 3 * A) |
| Resistance, ohm | kg * m ^ 2 / (s ^ 3 * A ^ 2) |
| Dynamic viscosity, Pa·s | kg / (m * s) |
The standard declarations use these dimensions.
Case matters: A is electric current and s
is time. Addition and subtraction require matching dimensions. The
declaration example keeps voltage and
resistance distinct even though both are scalar numbers.
Periodic clocks use their separate exact rational-time spelling; see Equations and state.
Example source · dimension checker · Next: Equations and state