Getting Started

Welcome to the Quantium Getting Started Guide! This guide will walk you through the core features of Quantium with practical, hands-on examples.

If you haven’t already installed Quantium, see the Installation & Setup section on the main page.

This guide is divided into the following sections:

• Units and Conversions
  • 1. Converting Units
  • 2. String-Based Definitions
  • 3. Inspecting and Simplifying Units
• Real-World Examples
  • 1. Physics: Kinetic Energy
  • 2. Physics: Potential Energy
  • 3. Electrical Engineering: Ohm’s Law
  • 4. Healthcare: Medical Dosage
  • 5. Mechanical Engineering: Pressure
• Advanced Usage
  • 1. Defining Custom Units
• Next Steps

1. Your First Calculation

Let’s start with something simple: computing force using Newton’s second law (\(F = ma\)).

from quantium import u

mass = 10 * u.kg
acceleration = 5 * u.m / (2 * u.s**2)

force = mass * acceleration
print(force)

Output:

25 N

Notice how Quantium automatically infers that the resulting unit is Newtons, ensuring dimensional consistency from the start.

2. Automatic Dimensional Checking

Quantium’s primary goal is to prevent you from performing physically invalid operations. For example, you cannot add mass to length.

from quantium import u

try:
    invalid = (5 * u.kg) + (10 * u.m)
except ValueError as e:
    print(e)

Output:

Incompatible units: 'kg' and 'm'

This automatic checking helps you catch mistakes early, long before they can corrupt your data or simulations, ensuring all computations remain physically meaningful.