Dimensions

 Dimensions

"Dimensions describe the physical nature of quantity. Each basic measurable physical quantity is represented by specific symbol and written within square bracket is called dimensions of physical quantity".

OR

Dimensions of any physical quantity are those powers which are raised on fundamental units to express its unit. The expression which shows how and which of the base quantities represent the dimensions of a physical quantity, is called the dimensional formula.

Dimensions of Base Quantities:

Each of the seven base quantities have their own dimensions, which is symbolically represented by a single sans serif roman capital letter.

Table shows some dimensions of some base quantities.

Dimensions of Derived Quantities: 

The dimensions of any derived quantity is written as product of powers of the dimensions of the base quantities.

Table shows some dimensions of some derived quantities.

Dimensional Formula of Some Physical Quantities:

1.  Displacement             [L]                      meter

2.     Area                                  [L²]                     meter ²

3.     Volume                             [L³]                    meter ³

4.      Density                           [ML-³]                Kgm-³

5.      Speed                              [LT-¹]                  ms-¹

6.      Acceleration                  [LT-²]                  ms-²

7.       Force                             [MLT-²]               Kgms-²

8.      Momentum                   [MLT-¹]               Kgms-¹

9.      Work                               [ML²T-²]             Kgm²s-²

10.    Kinetic energy              [ML²T-²]             Kgm²s-²

11.    Torque                            [ML²T-²]             Kgm²s-²

12.    Power                             [ML²T-³]             Kgm²s-³

13.   Pressure                          [ML-¹T-²]           Kgm-¹s-²

14.    Stress