SI unit prefixes should only be applied to SI units, or the data units bit (b) and byte (B) and their derived units. Before applying a prefix to the SI base unit kilogram, the kilo (or k) is dropped and the value it labels is multiplied by 1000. The casing used in abbreviations of SI prefixes is important.
| Prefix | Symbol | SI multiplier | Data multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| exa | E | 1018 | 260 |
| peta | P | 1015 | 250 |
| tera | T | 1012 | 240 |
| giga | G | 109 | 230 |
| mega | M | 106 | 220 |
| kilo | k | 103 | 210 |
| hecto | h | 102 | 28 |
| deka | da | 101 | 23 |
| Prefix | Symbol | Multiplier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| atto | a | 10-18 | |
| femto | f | 10-15 | |
| pico | p | 10-12 | |
| nano | n | 10-9 | |
| micro | µ | 10-6 | |
| milli | m | 10-3 | |
| centi | c | 10-2 | |
| deci | d | 10-1 |
See also: ASCII Gamut, Important Unicode Characters and SI Units.
Last updated: Sunday 8th May 2005