o

INTRODUCTORY
MEASUREMENT SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING AND In mechanics the quantities length, mass and time are chosen as fundamental quantities. The reason for this being that these quantities cannot be expressed i!l terms of any other more fundamental quantity. All other quantities in mechanics can be expressed in terms of these three fundamental quantities. A fundamental' quantity is a quantity which cannot be expressed in terins of any other physical quantity. The units in which These quantities are measured are called fundamental units. DERIVED UNITS It is observed that in mechanics quantities, except fundamental quantities, are related in some manner to the fundamental quantities-mass, iength and time. In fact !il ~ther quantities which can be expressed in terms of other quantities are known as derived quantities and the -units in whiCh these quantities are measured are called derived units. All those units which can be obtained by combining fundamental units like the units of area, volume, velocity, acceleration and force, etc. are called derived units. The fact that these units have been derived from the fundamental units will be clear from the following: Area = Length x Breadth = Length X Length, Volume = Length X Breadth XHeight = Length x Length x Length,

Physics is a science based upon exact measurement. Therefore it is essential that the student fIrst becomes familiar with various methods of measurement and the units in which these measurements are expressed. In fact measurements are basically a means of communication and are used by scientists for understanding natural phenomenon, by the society for transacting business and by the engineers for practical ends. All quantities and events which are observed and measured must be dearly defined so that no doubt is left to t~e exact meaning of any word or phrase. Otherwise there would be endless confusion. Every measurement whether it be a distance, a weight, an interval of time or any other physical quantity requires two things; fIrst, a number and second, a unit or standard. The quantity is measured by comparing it with the standard to find out how many times the quantity is greater than the standard. The standard is called the unit in which the quantity is measured, and the number repesenLing 'how many times as great' is called the measure number. A unit is a value quantity or magnitude in terms of which other values, quantities or magnitudes are expressed. Generally, a unit is independent of physical definition. A standard should be such that (0 it must be possible to defIne it unambiguously, (iz) it should be easy to reproduce, (iii) it must be invariable with the time and place, and (iv) it should be possible to multiply or divide each one of the standard. FUNDAMENTAL QUANTITIES AND UNITS In science we come across a large number of unrel~ted quantities and this might suggest that a large number of units would be required to represent these quantities, which is not the case in practice. In case of mechanics it is possible to express all the physical quantities in terms of three basic quantities. More units are used in practice for the sake of convenience and . not because it is necessary to do so. The basic quantities for which separate distinct units are-' .' . -!undamental quantities. -

Velocity - Distance _ Length, Time Time Aceleration- Change in velocity Time Velocit y Length and Time Time2 Force =Mass x Acceleration = Mass x Length Time2 SYSTEMS OF UNITS The followingsystems of units havebeen in us~ The F?enchsystem or C.G.S.system,the Britishsystem or F.P.S. system, Metre-Kilogram-Secondor M.K.S. system and internationalsystem of unitsor S.I. system.

"

i
I

(1) C.G.S. System. In this system the units of Itmgth, mass and time are centimetre, gramme and second respectively: ~ The Centimetre is one-hundredthpartof a metre. Metre is defined as the distance between two lines engravedon the polished surface of a certainplatinum iridium bar which is kept at the InternationalBureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) at Serve's near Paris. It is also defined in terms of the standard wave lengthof lightand is equal to 1650763.73wave lengths in vacuum of radiation corresponding to transition between the energy levels 2PJO sds of Kryption86 and atom. \/'" The Gramme is the one thousandth part of a kilogram. Kilogram is the mass of a certain piece of platinum iridium alloy preserved in a vault at Serve's France by the BIPM. The gramme is also defined as equal to the mass of 1 cc of pure water at 3.98e under the atmosphericpressure. \-- The Second or the mean solar second is defined as 1/86400thpart of a mean solar day. One solar day is the time between two consecutive noons or the average time which elapses during a year between two successive passages of the sun across anyone straight line drawn from pole to pole on the earth's . surface.

ENGINEERING

PHYSICS

;:t (2) F.P.S. System. In this system the unit of length is foot, the unit of mass is the pound and the unit of time is the second. v'fhe Foot is one-third of tl}e distance between two lines on platinum-iridiumbar at a temperature of 62F kept at the standardoffice of the Board of Trade, London. , The Pound is the mass of the platinum-iridium cylinder kept at the standard office of the Board of Trade, London. \. Second-Same as definedabove. ~ (3) M.K.S. System. The unit of mass in this system is kilogram, the unit of length is metre and the

it of time is second. (4) International System of Units (S.I.) This is the latest version of the metric system and is the only probably metric system likely to be used allover the world. This system consists of six base or fundamental units with the help of which we can derive units for all other possible quantities of science and engineering. In Wis system three more fundamental units are included and these additional units serve as link between engineering, science and technical units. The system has a distinct edge over other metric system because this system is comprehensive, coherent and The mean sideral second is 1/86400th part of the rational. It is comprehensive iI. the st:llse that its six sideral day or the true period of revolution of the earth base units cover all disciplines. Now with this system on its axis or the interval which elapses between two in use there is hardly any discipline that S.I. will leave uncovered. Table 1 shows S.I. base units. In table 2 ;;onsecutive passages of a fixed star across the meridian. two diInensionless supplementary units are shown. Table 1. S.I. Base Units

'

SNo. l. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Physical quantity Length f\lass Time Electric Current Luminous Intensity ThermodynamicTemperature

Unit metre kilogramme second ampere candela kelvin

Abbreviation

m kg s A cd K

Table 2. S.I. Supplementary Unit's l. 2. Plane angle Solid

Radian Steradian

rad Sr

For physical meaurements a second, since 1964, , S.I. Unit of Current. S.t unit of the current is 'IS been defined as 9192631770'periods of radiation ampere (A). Latest definition of ampere is linked to Qrresponding to the unperturbed transition between the force (newton). The adoption of the fourth :zehyperfine levels of the ground state of the atom of fundamental unit simplifies relationships among the 'aesium (elJJ) atom. units in electricity and magnetism, electrical

r
INTRODUcrORY

.3
1 Nm =1 VAs = 1Ws = 1 J (Mechanical) (Electrical) (Magnetic) (Electrical) 1 KWh = 3.6 x 106J or 3.6 MI. Derived units for some of the physical quantities which we come across in mechanics, heat, electric~ty, magnetism and other areas are shown in Table 3 on next page.

,,

engineeringand electronics. This has also done away with some.ten different systems of units in use which were causing utter confusion. The ampere is defined as that constant current which if maintainedin two straightparallel conductors of infinitelength,of n.egligible cross-sectionandplaced one metre apart in vacuum would produce between

these conductorsa force equal to 2 x 10-7newtonsper* CONCEPT OF DIMENSION metre of length. The length of an object is a concept which is .; S.l. Units of Luminous Intensity. The candela is cleo/ly identified and does not depend upon the
\,...0 the S.I. unit of

luminousintensityand is definedas

methodsusedformeasuring the unitsin whichit and

the luminousintensity in a directionnormal to surface of 1/600000square metre of a black body at the temperatureof solidificationof platinum,at a pressure of 100325newtonsper square metre. . \ S.I. Units of Temperature. The unit of temperature in S.I. system is Kelvin (K) instead of degree Kelvin eK). A defmition for temperature which is independent of the variation in physical properties of any substance is being devised by using a thermodynamicdefinition of the ideal Carnot cycle. It is this definition which has been used in S.I. in fixing absolute zero K and the triple point of the water at 273.16 K. The boiling point of the water is taken as 373.15 K '" 100C. The temperature intervals in the Kelvin and Celsius scales are identical and OC = 273.15 K. Table 2 (a) . . . . Abb reVIa t IOn Ii M u It IpIes an d Sub -mu ItIpIes. or Symbol T G M k h da d c m Prefix tera giga mega kilo hecto deca deci centi milli micro nano pico Multiplier iOl2 109 106 103 102 101 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-6 10-9 10-12

breadth= 3 metre,thickness 4 x 10-4metre-all ave = h

one common characteristic and that is they are all lengthand are said to havetheone dimensionof length. Any quantity whichcan be measuredin units of length is said to have the dimension of length. In fact the concept of dimension is more generalised than the concept of unit. In mechanicsthe length, mass and time are taken as the three base dimensionsand are expressed by as letters [L], [M]and [11respectively. Dimension of a physical quantity simply indicates the' physical quantities which appear in that quantity and gives absolutely no idea about the magnitudeof the quantity. If a quantity does not depend upon any of the base units the quantity is said to have the zero dimension. A quantity which is ~~presented the product of two as
identical dimensions will have two dimensions of that . umt. For example area IS expressed as the product of length and breadth. As length and breadth both have the dimension of length, the dimension of area will be [L] x [L] or [L2]. A quantity which does not depend upon anyone base units is said to have zero dimension of the units upon which the quantity does not depend. For example, volume does not depend upon mass and time hence the mass and time dimension of volume will be zero and in general we can write the dimension

is expressed. Measurementssuch as length = 5 metre,

of volume as [MoL 3To].

.J

in so many units. But in the S.I. system for all forms of energy there is only one unit Joule (1). If we use newton as the unit of force then Ulefollowingenergy equivalencerelationshipsarc possible. .

In view of above we can say: "The dimensions of a derived unit are the powers to whidi ihefundamental n -units of mass, length and lime must be raised to. p ')-epresent it.: Thus if a derived unit depends upon ath power of mass unit, bth power of length unit and cth Derived S.I. Units power of time unit, then the following will be the S.I. Units of Work, lI('at and Energy. Physical dimension of that quantity. quantitieslike energy, work .Hldheat can be expressed [M a] [Lb][P] or [M aLb P]. CLASSIFICA nON OF PHYSICAL QUANn-i'IES All the quantities which we come across in Physics can be classified in the following four categories:

4 (l) Dimensionless or Non-dimensional variables. All the quantities which are variable but have no dimenion are called dimensionless variables, for example angle, specific gravity, strain and efficiency' of a machine. These quantities have no dimension because they are expressedas the ratio of two identical units. '

ENGINEERING

PHYSICS

INTRODUCft

(iz) Dimensional variables. All the variable quantities which have got some dimension are called as dimensional variables, for example force, momentum, velocity, power etc. (iiz) Dimensionless or non-dimensional constant. The constant quantities which have no dimension such as pure number 1,2, 3 1t (13-14159) etc. are called dimensionless constant Table 3. S.I. Derived Units Physical quantity Capacitance Energy of charged capacitor Electric resistance (R) Electric conductance Inductance (L) Electrochemical equivalent Magnetic intensity (H) Sf Units Farad (F) or A.s. V-I Joule (1) Ohm (Q) or V.A.-I Siemens (S) Henry (H) or V.S. A-I Kilogram per coulomb (kg/C) Ampere per metre or (Nm or N/Wb) Tesla (T) or Wh. m-2

(iv) Dimen. velocity of ligh (q) have got a dimensions are

DIMENSION A formula 'the derived unit dimensional fo dimension in' the dimensional dimensional fo how and which units of physical In order to physical quanti in terms of the ph in mass, length clear from the fo

Physical quantity Force, weight Momentum Work, energy kinetic

Sf Units Newton (N) kg. m/s Joule (1) Watt (W) Hertz (Hz) rad/s Pascal (Pa) or N.m-2 (1 mm Hg

andpotential" .
Power Frequency Angular velocity Pressure

= 133.32 Pa)

\L (V

. Example 1.
(a) velocit'.

SolutionV

Coefficient of viscosity (T1) Pascal-second (Pa-s) Magnetic induction (B) Surface tension (T) . Newton per metre (N/m)
Magnetic flux (<<I)

(a) ,Unit of

.. Dimensi,
Intensity of magnetisation (J) Weber (Wb) or V.S or N-m/A Weber per square metre (Wb m-2) Ampere turn (AN) Diopter (D) Lumen (lm) cd. Sr2 Lux (Ix) Candela per square metre (cd/m2)

Quantity of heat (Q)

Specific heat capacity (C)

Joule (1) ICal = 4.1868 J IkCal =4186.8 J Joule per kilogram kelvin [J!(kg. K), IkCal/kg. 0C) = 4186.8 Jlkg. K)]

=Dime Dime
Hence the ., be [MlLll]. (b) Acceler

Magnetic motive force (M) Power oflens (D) Laminous flux Illuminance Luminance

.. .

Molar heat capacity (C) Specific latent heat (L) Coefficient of linear expansion Coefficient of volume expansion Electric charge (q) Surface density of electric charge Electric potential Electric field strength Electric fltix density

Joule per mol-kelvin (J/mol. K) Joule per kilogram (Jlkg) per kelvin (K-I) per kelvin (K-I) Coulomb (C) Coulomb per square metre (C/m2) Volt (V). Volt per metre (VIm) Coulomb per square metre (C/m2)

Power. Energy Absolute magnetic permeability Uta> Relative magnetic permeability Ut) Absolute permittivity (ea) Relative permittivity (e) Dielectric constant Dipole electric moment

Watt (W) Joule (1) Henry per metre (HIM) Dimensionless Farad per metre (F/m) Dimensionless Farad per metre (F/m) Coulomb-meter (C-m)

..

),.\

Example 2.
(a) Pressure.

Solution. (a)

-_.

.J

[CS

INTRODUcrORY

5 ... [Dimensionof pressure] [Dimension of force] [Dimension of area]

t
o' , .,
I!!"

.,e,
ft. "h re

(iv) Dimensional constant. Certain quantities like velocity of light in vacuum and gravitational constant (q) have got a fIXed value and also have got certain dimensions are called dimensional constant DIMENSIONAL FORMULAE A formula which indicates the relation between the derived unit and the fundamental units is called dimensional formula. For example area has zero dimension in time and mass and two in length hence, the dimensional formulae for area will be [MlL2Ji>].A dimensional formula is an expression which shows how and which of the fundamental units enter into the units of physical quantity. In order to find the dimensional formulae of a physical quantity we must first express that quantity in terms of the physical quantities of whose dimensions in mass, length and time are known to us. This will be

(b)

[L2] Work = Force

JMLT-2] _ [MT-IT-2)
x Distance

.'. Dimensionof work

of force] x [Dimension of distance] = [ML:r-2] x [L] [ML2:r-2]. (c) Power = Work donerrime ... Dimension of work

= [Dimension

II
.

[Dimension of Work] [Dimension of time]

[M: 2:--2]

clear from the followingexample: Example 1.Deduce the dimensionalformula of: ;r(a) velocity, (b) acceleration.and (c)force. Solution :

= [MT2y-3].

'*'

(a) .Unitof velocity _ Unit of length Unit of time .. Dimension of velocity Dimensionoflength _[L] [Ly-I] Dimension of time [T] Hence the dimensional formulae for velcity will be [MlL:r-l]. (b) Acceleration _ Change in velocity . Time .. Dimension of acceleration Dimension of velocity Dimension of time

Example 3. Deduce the dimensional formula for (a) modulus of elasticity, and (b) coefficient of viscosity. Solution. (a) Modulus of elasticity,

y = Stress = Force/Area Strain ChangeinlengtMJriginallength

... Dimension ~
imension

ofY of force)
of area)

= (Dimension
=[MLT-2]

x (Dimension of length)
X (D imension -1y-2] of length)

X [L] [L2] x [L]

= [ML

JLT-l]
[T]

=[LT-2] =[MOLT-2]

(b) The coefficient of viscosity (T\)of a liquid is defined as tangential force required per unit area to maintain unit velocity gradient between the two layers of the liquid unit distance apart or

(c) Forc~= Mass x Accleration

... ,

T\_F

..

I A (dV/dX)

[Dimensionof force]

\~

= [Dimension
= [M]

= = [ML:r-2]
(c) Power.

of mass]

Force Area X (VelocitychangelDistance)

x [Dimension of acceleration]

Dimensionof T\

x [L:r-2]

Example 2. Deduce the dimension of (a)Pressw-e, (b) Work and

=(Dimensionof force)
_ [MLT-2Jx [L]

x (Dimension of distance) (Dimensionof area) x (Dimension of velocity)

Solution. (a) Pressure

=Force
Area

- [L2]x [Ly-I]