In language, a quantity, from the Latin quantus “how much”, refers to the measurement of something, in relation to that which can be expressed numerically. [1]
Maxwell:5 five principle quantities | Maxwell
The five “principle quantities” in thermodynamics, according to the 1878 views of Scottish physicist James Maxwell, are the energy U, entropy S, volume V, temperature T, and pressure P of a body. [2] Quantities can be either “intensive”, defined uniquely per point in space, or “extensive”, proportional to the dimension of the system. Bridgman: ten10 fundamental quantities | BridgmanThe ten "fundamental quantities" in thermodynamics, according to the 1914 views of American physicist
Percy Bridgman, are pressure p, temperature τ, volume v, entropy s,
heat Q,
work W,
internal energy E, total heat H (
enthalpy), Gibbs potential Z (
Gibbs free energy), and Helmholtz potential ψ (
Helmholtz free energy), as shown adjacent.
SI: seven7 base quantities | SIIn 1960, in aims to unify scientific calculations throughout the world, French scientists developed the International System (SI) of units, using the three basic metric (meter-based) units of mass (kg), length (m), time (s), in addition to the four newer units temperature (K), mole (mol), current (A), and light intensity (cd).
 |
| SI unit relationship diagram. |
Derived quantities All scientific units can be derived from the seven base SI units. The first five SI units (kg, m, s, K, mol) are fairly simple units, whereas the latter two, i.e. current (A), measured in
force per distance, and light (cd), being the measure of
photon emission from a typical candle, are somewhat more complicated to understand.
One of the more conceptually difficult units to understand is the unit interrelationship involved in the measurement of the
mechanical equivalent of heat (J), which involves two derived SI units,
work and
heat, and one base SI unit,
temperature.
References 1. Quantity (definition) – Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 2000. 2. (a) Maxwell, James C. (1878). “Tait’s ‘Thermodynamics’ (I)”, (pgs. 257-59).
Nature, Jan. 31.
(b) Maxwell, James C. (1878). “
Tait’s ‘Thermodynamics’ (II)”, (pgs. 278-81).
Nature, Feb. 07.
3. Bridgman, P.W. (1914). "
A Complete Collection of Thermodynamic Formulas" (
abstract). Phys. Rev. 3 (4): 273–281.
External links●
SI base unit – Wikipedia.