(mts system), a system of units of physical quantities whose basic units are the meter, the ton (unit of mass), and the second. It was introduced in France in 1919 and in the USSR in 1933 (abolished in 1955 in connection with the introduction of GOST [All-Union State Standard] 7664–55, “Mechanical Units”).
The mts system of units was designed by analogy to the cgs system of units used in physics and was intended for practical measurements; therefore, the units chosen for length and mass were quantitatively larger than in the cgs system. The most important derived units are the sthene (sn) for force; the pièze (pz) for pressure; the sthene-meter, or kilojoule (kJ), for work; and the kilowatt (kW) for power.