The word unit means any of several things:
- The natural or usual or smallest measure of something, of which there are multiples and of which there may be fractions.
- In most physical contexts, for example science and engineering, 'unit' is used to mean a physical unit of measurement of a quantity. Systems of units are formed which are typically characterized by the units chosen for mass, distance, and time. Such systems of units include
- 'units' is also the name of a popular unit conversion program.
- A currency is a unit of money (a monetary unit).
- In mathematics, "unit" often refers to the number one in some sense:
- A unit vector is a vector with length 1.
- The unit circle is the cirle with radius 1 centered at the origin of the coordinate system.
- The unit interval is the interval of all real numbers between 0 and 1.
- The imaginary unit of complex numbers is the number i, a number whose square is -1.
- A root of unity is a complex number a power of which is 1.
- A unit of a ring is an element that is invertible with respect to the ring multiplication.
-
Military units or formations, including:
-
Unit 101 was an Israeli special operations unit.
-
Unit 731 was a secret military unit of the Japanese army.
-
Functional units are components of a system that perform a specific function:
- In theatre a unit refers to a unit of action sometimes also called a beat.
- A multiple unit is a passenger train whose carriages have their own motors.
- In the science fiction television series, Doctor Who, the initials UNIT stand for the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce.
- In Australian rock music, Unit was the second album from the Brisbane band Regurgitator.
- In a 19-inch rack a rack unit, unit or 'U' is a standrad height of 1.75 inches (44.45 mm).
If you know any more meanings of the term 'unit' you may want to add them to this list.
Last updated: 05-07-2005 16:05:45
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04