  We investigate the mathematical structure of unit systems and the relations
between them. Looking over the entire set of unit systems, we can find a
mathematical structure that is called preorder (or quasi-order). For some pair
of unit systems, there exists a relation of preorder such that one unit system
is transferable to the other unit system. The transfer (or conversion) is
possible only when all of the quantities distinguishable in the latter system
are always distinguishable in the former system. By utilizing this structure,
we can systematically compare the representations in different unit systems.
Especially, the equivalence class of unit systems (EUS) plays an important role
because the representations of physical quantities and equations are of the
same form in unit systems belonging to an EUS. The dimension of quantities is
uniquely defined in each EUS. The EUS's form a partially ordered set. Using
these mathematical structures, unit systems and EUS's are systematically
classified and organized as a hierarchical tree.
