Statvolt
The statvolt is a unit of voltage and electrical potential used in the CGS-ESU and gaussian systems of units. In terms of its relation to the SI units, one statvolt corresponds to ccgs 10−8 volt,[lower-alpha 1] i.e. to 299.792458 volts.[2][lower-alpha 2]
statvolt | |
---|---|
Unit system | CGS-ESU and CGS-Gaussian |
Unit of | electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force |
Symbol | statV |
Named after | Alessandro Volta |
In CGS base units | g1/2·cm1/2/s [1]:26 |
Conversions | |
1 statV in ... | ... corresponds to ... |
SI | ccgs 10−8 volt = 299.792458 volt[lower-alpha 1] |
CGS-EMU | ccgs abvolt |
The statvolt is also defined in the CGS system as 1 erg / statcoulomb.[2] It is a useful unit for electromagnetism because, in a vacuum, an electric field of one statvolt per centimetre has the same energy density as a magnetic field of one gauss. Likewise, a plane wave propagating in a vacuum has perpendicular electric and magnetic fields such that for every gauss of magnetic field intensity there is one statvolt/cm of electric field intensity.[2]
In the CGS-EMU system, the unit of voltage is the abvolt.
Notes
- The dimensionless constant ccgs = 2.99792458×1010 is numerically equal to the magnitude of the speed of light when the latter is expressed in cm/s.
- As of the 2019 redefinition of the SI base units, this correspondence is not longer exact.
References
- Gyllenbok, Jan (2018). Encyclopaedia of Historical Metrology, Weights, and Measures: Volume 1. Birkhäuser. ISBN 978-3-319-57598-8.
- Purcell, Edward (2011). Electricity and Magnetism (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 474–475. ISBN 9781107013605.