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The '''centimetre–gram–second system of units''' ('''CGS''' or '''cgs''') is a variant of the [[metric system]] based on the [[centimetre]] as the unit of [[length]], the [[gram]] as the unit of [[mass]], and the [[second]] as the unit of [[time]]. All CGS [[mechanics|mechanical]] units are unambiguously derived from these three base units, but there are several different ways in which the CGS system was extended to cover [[electromagnetism]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/centimetre-gram-second-system|title=Centimetre-gram-second system {{!}} physics|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-03-27|language=en}}{{failed verification|date=April 2018|reason=article is about viscosity, not electromagnetism}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.maplesoft.com/support/help/maple/view.aspx?path=Units/CGS|title=The Centimeter-Gram-Second (CGS) System of Units – Maple Programming Help|website=www.maplesoft.com|access-date=2018-03-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite arXiv |title=Babel of units: The evolution of units systems in classical electromagnetism |last=Carron |first=Neal J. |date=21 May 2015 |class=physics.hist-ph |eprint=1506.01951 }}</ref>
The CGS system has been largely supplanted by the [[MKS system of units|MKS system]] based on the [[metre]], [[kilogram]], and second, which was in turn extended and replaced by the [[International System of Units]] (SI). In many fields of science and engineering, SI is the only system of units in use, but
In measurements of purely mechanical systems (involving units of length, mass, [[force]], [[energy]], [[pressure]], and so on), the differences between CGS and SI are straightforward and rather trivial; the [[Unit conversion|unit-conversion factors]] are all [[Exponentiation#Powers of ten|powers of 10]] as {{nowrap|1=100 cm = 1 m}} and {{nowrap|1=1000 g = 1 kg}}. For example, the CGS unit of force is the [[dyne]], which is defined as {{val|1|u=g⋅cm/s<sup>2</sup>}}, so the SI unit of force, the [[newton (unit)|newton]] ({{val|1|u=kg⋅m/s<sup>2</sup>}}), is equal to {{val|100000|u=dynes}}.
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