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- Astropy v5.2.1 »
- Units and Quantities (`astropy.units`) »
- Combining and Defining Units

# Combining and Defining Units

## Basic example

Units and quantities can be combined together using the regular Python numeric operators:

    >>> from astropy import units as u
    >>> fluxunit = u.erg / (u.cm ** 2 * u.s)
    >>> fluxunit
    Unit("erg / (cm2 s)")
    >>> 52.0 * fluxunit
    <Quantity  52. erg / (cm2 s)>
    >>> 52.0 * fluxunit / u.s
    <Quantity  52. erg / (cm2 s2)>

## Fractional powers

Units support fractional powers, which retain their precision through complex operations. To do this, it is recommended to use `fractions.Fraction` objects:

    >>> from fractions import Fraction
    >>> Franklin = u.g ** Fraction(1, 2) * u.cm ** Fraction(3, 2) * u.s ** -1

Note

Floating-point powers that are effectively the same as fractions with a denominator less than 10 are implicitly converted to `Fraction` objects under the hood. Therefore, the following are equivalent:

    >>> x = u.m ** Fraction(1, 3)
    >>> x.powers
    [Fraction(1, 3)]
    >>> x = u.m ** (1. / 3.)
    >>> x.powers
    [Fraction(1, 3)]

## Defining units

Users are free to define new units, either fundamental or compound, using the `def_unit()` function:

    >>> bakers_fortnight = u.def_unit('bakers_fortnight', 13 * u.day)

The addition of a string gives the new unit a name that will show up when the unit is printed:

    >>> 10. * bakers_fortnight
    <Quantity  10. bakers_fortnight>

Creating a new fundamental unit is also possible:

    >>> titter = u.def_unit('titter')
    >>> chuckle = u.def_unit('chuckle', 5 * titter)
    >>> laugh = u.def_unit('laugh', 4 * chuckle)
    >>> guffaw = u.def_unit('guffaw', 3 * laugh)
    >>> rofl = u.def_unit('rofl', 4 * guffaw)
    >>> death_by_laughing = u.def_unit('death_by_laughing', 10 * rofl)
    >>> (1. * rofl).to(titter)
    <Quantity  240. titter>

Users can see the definition of a unit and its decomposition via:

    >>> rofl.represents
    Unit("4 guffaw")
    >>> rofl.decompose()
    Unit("240 titter")

By default, custom units are not searched by methods such as `find_equivalent_units()`. However, they can be enabled by calling `add_enabled_units()`:

    >>> kmph = u.def_unit('kmph', u.km / u.h)
    >>> (u.m / u.s).find_equivalent_units()
    There are no equivalent units
    >>> u.add_enabled_units([kmph])
    <astropy.units.core._UnitContext object at ...>
    >>> (u.m / u.s).find_equivalent_units()
      Primary name | Unit definition | Aliases
    [
      kmph         | 0.277778 m / s  |         ,
    ]