Giovanni Giorgi

Italian physicist
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://mainten.top/biography/Giovanni-Giorgi
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Quick Facts
Born:
November 27, 1871, Lucca, Italy
Died:
August 19, 1950, Castiglioncello (aged 78)

Giovanni Giorgi (born November 27, 1871, Lucca, Italy—died August 19, 1950, Castiglioncello) was an Italian physicist who proposed a widely used system for the definition of electrical, magnetic, and mechanical units of measurement.

Giorgi studied civil engineering at the Institute of Technology in Rome and from 1906 to 1923 directed the Technology Office of Rome. He taught (1913–39) at the University of Rome and also held appointments at the universities of Cagliari and Palermo and at the Royal Institute for Higher Mathematics. He is best known for developing the Giorgi International System of Measurement (also known as the MKSA system) in 1901. This system proposed as units of scientific measurement the metre, kilogram, second, and joule and was endorsed in 1960 by the General Conference of Weights and Measures (with the ampere instead of the joule as the unit of energy).

Giorgi also contributed to the development of hydroelectric installations, electric distribution networks, and urban trolley systems.

Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.
Britannica Quiz
Physics and Natural Law
This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.