On the dimensionality of the Avogadro constant and the definition of the mole

There is a common misconception among educators, and even some metrologists, that the Avogadro constant _N_~A~ is (or should be) a pure number, and not a constant of dimension *N*^–1^ (where *N* is the dimension amount of substance). Amount of substance is measured, and has always been measured, as ratios of other physical quantities, and not in terms of a specified pure number of elementary entities. Hence the Avogadro constant has always been defined in terms of the unit of amount of substance, and not vice versa. The proposed redefinition of the mole in terms of a fixed value of the Avogadro constant would cause additional conceptual complexity for no metrological benefit.