SP 330, NIST SPECIAL PUBLICATION: THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI) (2001)

SP 330, NIST SPECIAL PUBLICATION: THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI) (2001)., The International System of Units, universally abbreviated SI (from the French Le Syste`me International d’Unite´s ), is the modern metric system of measurement. Long the dominant system used in science, the SI is rapidly becoming the dominant measurement system used in international commerce. In recognition of this fact and the increasing global nature of the marketplace, the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, which changed the name of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and gave to NIST the added task of helping U.S. industry increase its competitiveness, designates “the metric system of measurement as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce.” The definitive international reference on the SI is a booklet published by the International Bureau ofWeights and Measures (BIPM, Bureau International des Poids et Mesures ) and often referred to as the BIPM SI Brochure. Entitled Le Syste`me International d’Unite´s (SI) , the booklet is in French followed by a text in English. This 2001 edition of NIST Special Publication (SP) 330 is the United States version of the English text of the seventh edition of the Brochure (the most current). However, it also incorporates the contents of Supplement 2000: addenda and corrigenda to the 7th edition (1998) [Supple´ment 2000: additions et corrections a` la 7e e´dition (1998)] published by the BIPM in June 2000. The 2001 edition of NIST SP 330 replaces its immediate predecessor, the 1991 edition, which was based on the sixth edition of the BIPM SI Brochure published in 1991.