A Proposal to Abolish the Absolute Electrical Unit Systems

The specification of a physical quantity must include numerical value and unit. The expression ``dimension'' is defined as the general unit of a quantity and it is shown that applied mathematics has to deal with physical quantities rather than pure numbers, so that each equation yields a relation between numerics and dimensions. It is possible to reduce all dimensions to a set of a few fundamental dimensions, called a ``dimension system.'' The application of this concept to the various fields of physics is shown, and it is proved that the so-called ``absolute'' dimension systems in electromagnetism are incorrect from this point of view and lead to inconsistent results. The proposal is made, therefore, to abolish the ``absolute'' dimension systems in electromagnetism and to introduce two new dimension systems as extensions of the two well-known mechanical systems by adding just one electric fundamental dimension. The new proposal retains all the familiar units but puts them on the sound basis of correct dimension systems, which, it is hoped, eliminates the unfortunate discrepancy in electromagnetism which has caused so much trouble ever since the ``absolute'' systems were introduced. The adoption of the new proposal, however, requires the cooperation of physical as well as electrical engineering societies, especially with regard to possible international action.