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Description
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To write multiples of units in an abbreviated form and avoid unnecessarily large or small powers, both the International System of Units (SI) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) have approved lists of prefixes that can be used in conjunction with certain units.
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For each multiple, the prefix can be attached to the unit name and the prefix symbol can be attached to the unit symbol. For example, centimeter and cm. The prefix cannot be attached to the symbol and the prefix symbol cannot be attached to the unit name. For example, cmeter and centim are not accepted as units.
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A prefix must be used in conjunction with a unit. It cannot be used to represent numerical values. For example, k does not represent 1000.
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Prefixes cannot be combined into compound prefixes. For example, use nanometer, not millimicrometer.
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The column titled Prefixes in the table describing the units of a given dimension, eg. length, shows whether a unit may be prefixed, and according to which of the conventions listed below. The ability to prefix a unit, and by which convention, can be determined programmatically using the GetUnit command.
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International System of Units (SI)
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Factor
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Prefix
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Symbol
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Adopted
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Etymology
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quetta
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Q
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2022
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decem [1], ten in Latin
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ronna
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R
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2022
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ennea / novem [1], nine in Greek and Latin, resp.
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yotta
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Y
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1991
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otto, eight in Italian
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zetta
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Z
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1991
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sette, seven in Italian
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exa
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E
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1975
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hex, six in Greek
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peta
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P
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1975
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pente, five in Greek
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tera
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T
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1960
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teras, monster in Greek
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giga
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G
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1960
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gigas, giant in Greek
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mega
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M
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1960
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megas, huge in Greek
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1000
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kilo
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k
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1795
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khilioi, thousand in Greek
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100
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hecto
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h
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1795
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hekaton, hundred in Greek
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10
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deka
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da, dk
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1795
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deka, ten in Greek
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1/10
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deci
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d
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1795
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decimus, tenth in Latin
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1/100
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centi
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c
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1795
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centum, hundred in Latin
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1/1000
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milli
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m
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1795
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mille, thousand in Latin
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micro
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, u, mc
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1960
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mikros, small in Greek
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nano
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n
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1960
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nanos, dwarf in Greek
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pico
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p
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1960
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piccolo, little bit in Spanish
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femto
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f
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1964
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femten, 15 in Norwegian/Danish
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atto
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a
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1964
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atten, 18 in Norwegian/Danish
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zepto
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z
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1991
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sept, seven in Greek
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yocto
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y
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1991
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okto, eight in Greek
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ronto
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r
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2022
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ennea / novem [1], nine in Greek and Latin, resp.
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quecto
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q
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2022
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decem [1], ten in Latin
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The correct symbol for the prefix deka is da, but dk is common in the United States. The correct symbol for the prefix micro is the greek letter . Because the SI does not give an acceptable alternative in an ASCII environment, three prefix symbols have gained acceptance in various fields: u, mu, and mc. Any of these prefix symbols is valid in the Units package.
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In 1960, at the 10th CGPM, the prefix myria for 10000 was removed from the list of accepted prefixes.
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International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
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The natural base for computers is . Since is approximately equal to , the term kilobytes, referring to bytes, was accepted.
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In 1998, to remove any possible confusion as to whether kilo refers to a multiplier of or , the IEC approved a list of names and symbols for binary powers. This list was extended in 2005.
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Factor
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Prefix
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Symbol
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Example
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kibi
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Ki
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1 kibibyte = KiB = 1024 bytes
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mebi
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Mi
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1 mebibyte = MiB = 1048576 bytes
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gibi
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Gi
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1 gibibyte = GiB = 1073741824 bytes
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tebi
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Ti
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1 tebibyte = TiB = 1099511627776 bytes
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pebi
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Pi
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1 pebibyte = PiB = 1125899906842624 bytes
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exbi
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Ei
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1 exbibyte = EiB = 1152921504606846976 bytes
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zebi
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Zi
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1 zebibyte = ZiB = 1180591620717411303424 bytes
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yobi
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Yi
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1 yobibyte = YiB = 1208925819614629174706176 bytes
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The progression of Ki, Mi, Gi, Ti, Pi, Ei, Zi, Yi is similar to that of the SI prefixes, k, M, G, T, P, E, Z, Y, though for consistency, Ki is capitalized.
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Note that by default, the symbol B is reserved for unit bel. To change this, use the AddUnit routine.
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Examples
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References
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[1] R. Brown, Discussion on the possible extension of the available range of SI prefixes. BIPM CCU/2019-10_04.
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