List of scientists whose names are used as non SI units

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Most of the physical units are named after great scientists. By this convention, their names are immortalised. The scientists whose names are used in SI units are listed in List of scientists whose names are used as SI units. Below is the list of the scientists whose names are used in non-SI units.

List of the scientists and the physical units

Name of the scientist[1][2] Life Nationality Quantity Unit [Note 1] Image
William Gilbert 1544–1603 British (English) Magnetomotive force gilbert (Gi) William Gilbert 45626i.jpg
John Napier 1550–1617 British (Scottish) Magnitude (ln) neper[Note 2] (Np) John Napier.jpg
Galileo Galilei 1564–1642 Italian Acceleration gal (Gal) Justus Sustermans - Portrait of Galileo Galilei, 1636.jpg
Evangelista Torricelli 1608–1647 Italian Pressure torr (Torr) Libr0367.jpg
René Réaumur 1683–1757 French Temperature degree Reaumur (°R) Rene reaumur.jpg
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit 1686–1736 Polish-Dutch-German Temperature degree Fahrenheit (°F) Fahrenheit small.jpg
Johann Heinrich Lambert 1728–1777 German Luminance lambert (L) JHLambert.jpg
John Dalton 1766–1844 British Mass (atomic) dalton (Da, amu) John Dalton by Charles Turner.jpg
Hans Christian Ørsted 1777–1851 Danish Magnetic field oersted (Oe) Hans Christian Ørsted daguerreotype.jpg
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss 1777–1855 German Magnetic flux density gauss (G) Carl Friedrich Gauss.jpg
Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille 1797–1869 French Dynamic viscosity poise (P) Poiseuille.jpg
Anders Jonas Ångström 1814–1874 Swedish Length angstrom (Å) Anders Jonas Ångström - 001.png
Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet 1818–1903 British Kinematic viscosity stokes (St) Ggstokes.jpg
William John Macquorn Rankine 1820–1872 British (Scottish) Thermodynamic temperature degree Rankine (°Ra ) Rankine William signature.jpg
James Clerk Maxwell 1831–1879 British (Scottish) Magnetic flux maxwell (Mx) James Clerk Maxwell.png
Samuel Pierpont Langley 1834–1906 American Energy intensity langley (Ly) Samuel Pierpont Langley.jpg
Ernst Mach 1838–1916 Austrian Speed Mach number (M) Ernst Mach 01.jpg
John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh 1842–1919 British Acoustic impedance rayl John William Strutt.jpg
Wilhelm Röntgen 1845–1923 German Ionizing radiation röntgen (R) Roentgen2.jpg
Alexander Graham Bell 1847–1922 British (Scottish)-American Magnitude (log10) bel (B) Alexander Graham Bell.jpg
Loránd Eötvös 1848–1919 Hungarian Gravitational gradient eotvos (E) Roland Eotvos.jpg
Heinrich Kayser 1853–1940 German Wavenumber kayser Heinrich Kayser.jpg
Joseph John Thomson 1856–1940 British Mass-to-charge ratio thomson (Th) J.J Thomson.jpg
Pierre Curie

Marie Curie

1859–1906

1867–1934

French

Polish-French

Radioactivity curie (Ci) Pierre Curie by Dujardin c1906.jpgMarie Curie c1920.jpg
Heinrich Mache 1876–1954 Austrian Radioactivity Mache (ME) Mache-Heinrich-(1876-1954)a.jpg
Peter Debye 1884–1966 Dutch Electric dipole moment debye (D) Debije-boerhaave.jpg

See also

Notes

  1. As a rule, the units are written in lowercase letters. But, symbols of units derived from a personal name always begin with a capital letter.
  2. Neper and decibel are dimensionless units

References

  1. Isaac Asimov:Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Pan Reference Books, London, 1972, ISBN 0-330-24323-3
  2. Elektrik Mühendisliği, TBMMO Yayın organı, 259–260, Ankara, 1978