Electric Current Converter

Electric current (I), or electrical current, is the flow of electric charge: the charge passing a point each second, I = Q / t. Its SI unit is the ampere (A), one coulomb per second. Small electronics draw milliamps (mA) or microamps (µA), and power systems carry kiloamps (kA).

How to convert current units

Type a value into any field, and every other unit is calculated at once. Each metric prefix is a factor of 1,000. For example, 250 mA:

1. In amperes: divide by 1,000.

   250 / 1,000 = 0.25 A

2. In microamperes: multiply by 1,000.

   250 * 1,000 = 250,000 µA

Current, voltage and resistance are linked by Ohm's law, I = V / R, which the Ohm's Law Calculator works with.

Common conversions

Electric current units

• Ampere (A): Ampere is the base unit of electric current in the International System of Units (SI). One ampere is equal to 1 coulomb, or 6.241509074 * 10^18 electrons' worth of charge, moving past a point in one second.
  Conversion Factor: 1 A = 1 A (Base Unit)

• Milliampere (mA): Milliampere is a unit of electric current equal to one-thousandth of an Ampere.
  Conversion Factor: 1 mA = 0.001 A

• Microampere (μA): Microampere is a unit of electric current equal to one-millionth of an Ampere.
  Conversion Factor: 1 μA = 0.000001 A

• Kiloampere (kA): Kiloampere is a unit of electric current equal to one thousand Amperes.
  Conversion Factor: 1 kA = 1000 A

• Biot (Bi): The biot, also called abampere, is the derived electromagnetic unit of electric current in the emu-cgs system of units. One abampere corresponds to ten amperes in the SI system of units.
  Conversion Factor: 1 Bi ≈ 10 A

• Abampere (abA): Abampere is another name for the biot unit.
  Conversion Factor: 1 abA = 1 Bi = 10 A

• EMU of current (emu): Electromagnetic unit of current is another name for the abampere.
  Conversion Factor: 1 emu = 1 abA = 1 Bi ≈ 10 A

• ESU of current (esu): Electrostatic unit of current, also known as statampere, is the current unit in the cgs (centimeter-gram-second) electrostatic units variant and Gaussian systems of units.
  Conversion Factor: 1 esu ≈ 3.33564 * 10^-10 A

• Statampere (statA): The statampere is another name for the electrostatic unit of current.
  Conversion Factor: 1 statA = 1 esu ≈ 3.33564 * 10^-10 A

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert amps to watts?

Multiply by the voltage: P = V * I. 2 A at 230 V is 460 W, and at 12 V it is 24 W. Watts can't be found from amps alone.