System size in relativistic heavy ion collisions

System size is more than a geometrical quantity in relativistic heavy ion collisions; it is closely related to evolution process, i.e. a different system size corresponds to a different evolution process, and whether QGP is produced depends on the system size. We propose that the system size should be under the same level when comparing the measurements from different colliding nuclei. The equivalence of the peripheral collisions of Au-Au and the central collisions of smaller nuclei is studied using the Monte Carlo method. Comparing the transverse overlapping area of the colliding nuclei, the number of participant nucleons and the number of nucleon-nucleon binary collisions in various colliding nuclei, we give an estimate of the correspondence in system size. This is helpful in the experimental comparison of the measurements from different colliding nuclei. (authors)