| Kelvin |
The SI unit of temperature. The Kelvin temperature scale has a zero point at absolute zero and degree intervals (kelvins) the same size as degrees Celsius. The freezing point of water occurs at 273K (0ºC) and the boiling point at 373 K (100ºC). |
| Kelvin (K) |
The base unit of thermodynamic temperature in the SI system. It was previously defined to be the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. From 20 May 2019 it has been defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the Boltzmann constant kB to be 1.380 649 × 10−23 when expressed in the unit J/K, which is equal to kg.m2/(s2K). |
| Kiln |
An industrial oven for burning, baking, or drying. |
| Kilo (k) |
An SI unit prefix indicating a multiplier of 103; thus kilometre (km) is a unit of length equal to one thousand metres. |
| Kilocalorie |
(Cal, kg-cal, kilogram-calorie, large calorie) An obsolete (i.e. non-SI) unit of energy equal to 1 000 cal. |
| Kilogram (kg) |
The base unit of mass in the SI system. It was previously defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram, a right cylinder of height and diameter 39.17 mm made of an alloy of 90% (by mass) platinum and 10% iridium. From 20 May 2019 it has been defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the Planck constant h to be 6.626 070 150 × 10−34 when expressed in the unit J.s, which is equal to kg.m2.s. |
| Kinetic energy |
Energy that an object possesses because it is in motion. It is the energy given to an object to set it in motion. On impact, it is converted into other forms of energy such as strain, heat, sound and light. |
| Kinetic friction |
(dynamic friction, sliding friction) (Unit N) The sliding resistance to relative motion of two surfaces in contact with each other. |
| Knoop hardness test |
An indentation-hardness test using calibrated machines to force a rhombic-based pyramidal diamond indenter having specified edge angles, under specified conditions, into the surface of the material under test and to measure the long diagonal after removal of the load. |
| Knoop hardness test |
An indentation hardness test in which the indenter is an elongated diamond pyramid that gives an impression in the form of a parallelogram, in which the longer diagonal is about seven times the shorter. Used for studies of anisotropy in solid materials. |
| Knot (kn) |
A non-SI unit defined as one nautical mile per hour. The conversion to SI is 1 kn = 5.144 444 444×10−1 m/s. |
