Calcpad shortcut full#

For example, “kg + m” does not make any sense, because both operands represent different physical dimensions.

You can compare, add or subtract only values, which units are consistent. The first one will store the exponents for all seven physical dimensions (mass, length, time, current, temp, substance, luminosity) and the second one – the respective scaling factors: In the case of units, we will include a name and two vectors. It can contain multiple values of different types in a single variable. To store all this information, we need a special type of data called “structure”. Then, we have to define all possible operations like comparison, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and exponentiation. We also need the corresponding scale factors, in order to allow for multiples. For that purpose, we need to store the information for how units are composed by the base ones.

Calcpad shortcut full#

Full list of the available units is provided in the user manual:Īny software implementation must allow the units to be compared, converted and scaled. However, not all prefixes are commonly used for all units, and that is why they are not included in Calcpad. All possible prefixes are listed in the following table: Name I this way, we can obtain multiples of both base and composite units. Other method to derive units is by adding prefixes. They can be always decomposed to their constituent base units. By definition, force is mass × acceleration, so 1 N = 1 kg For example, forces are measured in Newtons (N). They correspond to the seven physical dimensions:Īll other units are derived from the base ones, using the respective laws of physics. There are only seven base units in the whole universe. But first, let’s make a brief overview of the theoretical basis.

In this post, we will take a quick look inside Calcpad and see how units actually work.