CGS Full Form

CGS full form is Centimeter gram seconds. Know about its history, how the unit is used in the measurement process ,advantages and disadvantages in this article.

What is the full form of CGS?

As mentioned above the full form of CGS is centimeter Gram seconds which is a typical unit system. The unit system uses centimeters as a unit of length, gram is considered as the unit of mass, and the second as a unit of time. So, these 3 are the fundamental units of CGS units. The MKS system has replaced the CGS system which is based on metre, kilograms, and second. And now the unit system named SI is used globally.

History of CGS?

The system of CGS was developed in the year 1832 by a German Mathematician named Carl Friedrich to develop a system which is based on 3 primary units of mass, length, and time

In the year 1873, a committee of the British Association suggested CGS be adopted globally, and since then all the derived electromagnetic units are expressed using CGS.

The technical use of this unit system started decreasing by 1940 globally, and a new unit system known as MKS was getting popular.

By the early 1880 and middle of the 20th century, the CGS was replaced by the MKS system globally which was later evolved into the SI standard. The SI units are used primarily in the field of engineering and physics.

Currently, the SI unit system is used commonly as an international standard metric system and is used globally

What are the different CGS units?

The CGS uses the values such as length, time and weight measured in centimeters, grams and seconds. The below mentioned are all the unit names including their Unit symbol.

• Centimetre - cm
• Gram - g
• Second - s
• Centimeter per second - cm/s
• Gal - Gal
• Dyne- dyn
• Erg- erg
• Erg per second- erg/s
• Barye- Ba
• Poise- P
• Stokes- St
• Kayser - cm- 1

What are different fundamental quantities and their symbols?

Below mentioned are all the fundamental quantities used in CGS unit along with their symbols

• Length - L
• Position- x
• Mass- m
• Time- t
• Velocity- v
• Acceleration- a
• Force- F
• Energy- E
• Power- P
• Pressure- p
• Dynamic viscosity- u
• Kinematic viscosity- v
• Wavenumber- k

CGS Unit in Gravitational Systems

In the gravitational centimeter-gram-second system, the gram is considered to be a unit of force. Mass and all other respective mechanical quantities are showcased with respect to combinations of this unit of force with the centimeter and second. In Newton's gravitational system and in the case of the absolute gravitational system, Newton's second law is expressed as F=ma. But, as force is considered as the basic unit rather than a mass unit, it is considered to be written as m=F/a. In this numerical expression, the unit of length or distance is symbolized by L, the unit of force by F and the unit of time by T, Then, the unit of mass becomes a derived unit of dimensions as gram.second square/centimeter. In Newton’s second law of motion and in Gravitational theory, the unit ‘gram’ is considered as the basic measurement unit.

Unit Force Mass System

Generally, a system where gram is considered as both a unit of mass and a unit of force. This system is taken into consideration for most of the people who are not physically scientists or engineers or have a lesser understanding of the intricacies of unit management. The unit of weight is considered as weight (at some fixed point on the surface of the earth) of a definite object whose ‘mass’ is taken into consideration as the standard unit of the system. This certain type of system has been termed as a unit-force mass system. In the case of the unit-force mass centimeter-gram second system, one really needs to understand and bifurcate the difference between the gram-force and gram-mass system. To understand the bifurcation, both the unit of force and mass should be studied.

In such a unit measurement system, the Newton’s second law cannot be written simply as F- ma. But, it must be written as F=kma, where ‘k’ is considered as a specific constant characteristic of the entire system. And, it is just not simply a pure dimensionless constant, but to make the equation a consistent one, the value of ‘k’ must appear in the  numbers of other equations.

Advantages of CGS?

Below mentioned are the advantages of CGS:

• Both unit systems CGS and Si are used in physics exams
• The use of units helps in achieving in-depth knowledge about various topics
• The units provide in an effective way which results in easy understanding

Disadvantages of CGS?

Below are some disadvantages of CGS

·       Sometimes they are difficult to define through experiment

Other full form of CSG

• Cost of Goods Sold

It is the sum of all costs which are associated with product making. They are also known as carrying the value of sold goods during a specific time period. It does not include the costs which are associated with marketing, distribution or sales.

• Common Ground Station

It is a system which is used by American military to produce military intelligence for branches such as army, air force, navy