Electrical Units Converter
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Contact UsElectrical units form the foundation of modern electrical and electronic measurements. The International System of Units (SI) defines seven base units, of which the ampere (current) is fundamental to electrical measurements. Other electrical units like the volt, ohm, and watt are derived from these base units. The historical development of these units traces back to pioneers like Alessandro Volta, Georg Ohm, and James Watt, whose names now represent these essential measurements.
| Quantity | Unit | Symbol | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Ampere | A | Flow of electric charge |
| Voltage | Volt | V | Electric potential difference |
| Resistance | Ohm | Ω | Opposition to current flow |
| Power | Watt | W | Rate of energy transfer |
Ohm's Law: V = I × R
Power Law: P = V × I
Joule's Law: P = I² × R
Capacitor Charge: Q = C × V
Inductance: V = L × (dI/dt)
The basic electrical units include the volt (V) for voltage, ampere (A) for current, ohm (Ω) for resistance, watt (W) for power, and farad (F) for capacitance. These units are part of the International System of Units (SI) and form the foundation for all electrical measurements and calculations.
To convert milliamps (mA) to amps (A), divide by 1000. To convert amps to milliamps, multiply by 1000. For example, 500 mA equals 0.5 A. The milli- prefix represents one-thousandth, following standard SI metric prefixes used across all electrical units.
Volts, amps, and ohms are related through Ohm's law: V = I × R, where V is voltage in volts, I is current in amps, and R is resistance in ohms. This fundamental relationship means that knowing any two of these values allows you to calculate the third.
SI prefixes are standard multipliers used to express very large or very small values. Common prefixes in electrical engineering include mega (M, 10⁶), kilo (k, 10³), milli (m, 10⁻³), micro (μ, 10⁻⁶), nano (n, 10⁻⁹), and pico (p, 10⁻¹²). For example, 1 megaohm equals 1,000,000 ohms.
DC measurements are straightforward since voltage and current are constant. AC measurements are more complex because the values continuously oscillate, so they are typically expressed as RMS (root mean square) values. RMS values represent the equivalent DC value that would produce the same heating effect, with AC RMS voltage being approximately 0.707 times the peak voltage.
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