The Atomic System of Units
Description
Atomic Base Units
Atomic Derived Units with Special Names and Symbols
Examples
The atomic system is based on a unit of mass, the electron mass (approximately equal to 9.1093897×10−31 kilograms), a unit of charge, the electron (approximately equal to 1.60217733×10−19 coulombs), a unit of action, the planck (equal to Planck's constant over 2⁢π), and a unit of electric permittivity written as kappa0 (equal to 1.×107c2 farads per meter, or one statfarad per centimeter, where c is the magnitude of the speed of light).
By taking combinations of these four units, one can derive four units corresponding to the base dimensions length, mass, time, and electric current.
To facilitate using atomic units, enter the command Units[UseContext](Atomic) so that the second, volt, and tesla refer to the atomic and not SI context.
When used in conjunction with the UseSystem command, the atomic system sets the following units for the given dimensions. All units have context Atomic.
Dimension Name
Unit Name
mass
electron_mass
electric charge
electron
action
planck
electric permittivity
permittivity
length
bohr
time
second
force
hartree/bohr
energy
hartree
power
hartree per second
electric current
electron per second
electric potential
volt
electric capacitance
square electron per hartree
electric field strength
volt per bohr
electric displacement
electron per bohr squared
electric dipole moment
electron bohr
electric polarizability
electron bohr squared per volt
magnetic permeability
electron_mass bohr per electron squared
magnetic flux
volt second
magnetic flux density
tesla
magnetic inductance
volt second squared per electron
magnetizing force
hartree per tesla bohr cubed
hartree per tesla
magnetic polarizability
hartree per tesla squared
All atomic base units have the context Atomic, including the second, where one atomic second is approximately 2.4188843×10−17 SI second.
Unit Symbol
a0
em
s
electron/second
e/s
All units have the context Atomic.
Symbol
In Terms of Other Atomic Units
h_bar +
em*a0^2/s
E0
em*a0^2/s^2
kappa0
s^2*e^2/a0^3/em
electric potential difference
V
E0/e
T
em/s/e
A plus sign (+) indicates an abbreviation.
convert⁡1.0,units,bohr,m
5.291772103×10−11
convert⁡1.0,units,secondAtomic,s
2.418884325×10−17
convert⁡1.0,units,hartree,J
4.359744652×10−18
convert⁡1.0,units,voltAtomic,V
27.21138603
If infolevel is set to a greater integer (possible settings are 1 through 5), more detailed information about the computation method is displayed.
infolevelUnits≔1:
convert⁡3.25721,system,Cm2,Atomic
convert/system: "converting to the units e/a0^2"
0.05692953475
convert⁡5.23421×10−10,system,C2J,Atomic
convert/system: "converting to the units e^2/E0"
8.889788241×1010
with⁡UnitsStandard:
UnitsUseSystem⁡Atomic
UnitsUseContexts⁡Atomic
Notes:
To enter a unit in 2-D Math input, select the unit from the appropriate Units palette. If the unit you want is not there, select unit and then enter the unit.
When you edit a unit, double brackets appear around it.
2.532⁢Unit⁡a0s
2.532⁢a0s
2.532⁢Unit⁡a0sSI
2.532⁢a0sSI
combine⁡,units
convert/system: "converting to the units a0/s"
6.124615111×10−17⁢a0s
5⁢Unit⁡em⁢a02s
5⁢em⁢a02s
convert⁡,system
convert/system: "converting to the units h_bar"
5⁢h_bar
Unit⁡s
5⁢E0
Unit⁡a02
5⁢ems2
combine⁡3.25323⁢Unit⁡F,units
5.525289547×1020⁢e2E0
Unit⁡m
2.923857309×1010⁢κ0
See Also
convert/system
convert/units
evalf
infolevel
Units
Units/Index
Units/Standard
Units/Systems
Units[UseSystem]
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