MTS Unit System

The MTS unit system was the only legal system used in France from 1919 up to 1961, when SI unts were formally adopted. It was adopted by the Soviet Union in 1933 and abolished in 1955. This system was based on the meter, the metric tonne, and the second. There were several derived units with special names which were based on these three fundamental units and these are: sthene (sn) for force or weight, and the pieze (pz) for pressure. This system as well as MKpS had no links with electrical, magentic, or thermodynamic units. The base units of the MTS system are:

• Length: meter
• Volume: cubic meter or stere \(1 \) [m\(^3\)] = 1 [st]
• Mass: tonne \(1\) [t] = \(10^3\)[kg] = 1 [Mg]
• Time: second [s]

Some common derived units:

• Force: sthene 1 [sn] = 1 [\(\frac{t\cdot m}{s^2}\)] = \(10^3\) [N] = 1 [kN]
• Energy: sthene-meter = kilojoule, 1 [sn\(\cdot\)m] = 1 [t\(\cdot\)m\(^2\) = \(10^3\) [J] = 1 [kJ]
• Power: sthene-meter per second = kilowatt, 1 [sn\(\cdot\)m/s] = 1 [t\(\cdot\)m\(^2\)/s\(^3\)] = \(10^3\) [W] = 1 [kW]
• Pressure: pieze 1 [pz] = 1 [t/m\(\cdot\)s\(^2\)] = \(10^3\) [Pa] = 1 [kPa] = 1 centibar (cbar)