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- Units and Quantities (`astropy.units`) »
- get_physical_type

# get_physical_type

astropy.units.get_physical_type(obj)

  Return the physical type that corresponds to a unit (or another physical type representation).

  Parameters:
    obj astropy:quantity-like or `PhysicalType` astropy:-like

      An object that (implicitly or explicitly) has a corresponding physical type. This object may be a unit, a `Quantity`, an object that can be converted to a `Quantity` (such as a number or array), a string that contains a name of a physical type, or a `PhysicalType` instance.

  Returns:
    `PhysicalType`

      A representation of the physical type(s) of the unit.

  Examples

  The physical type may be retrieved from a unit or a `Quantity`.

      >>> import astropy.units as u
      >>> u.get_physical_type(u.meter ** -2)
      PhysicalType('column density')
      >>> u.get_physical_type(0.62 * u.barn * u.Mpc)
      PhysicalType('volume')

  The physical type may also be retrieved by providing a `str` that contains the name of a physical type.

      >>> u.get_physical_type("energy")
      PhysicalType({'energy', 'torque', 'work'})

  Numbers and arrays of numbers correspond to a dimensionless physical type.

      >>> u.get_physical_type(1)
      PhysicalType('dimensionless')