Electrical Conductivity Converter

Electrical conductivity (σ) is how well a material conducts electric current, whatever the size of the piece. Its SI unit is the siemens per meter (S/m). It is the inverse of the resistivity: σ = 1 / ρ.

Metals conduct best: copper about 5.96 × 10⁷ S/m and aluminium about 3.5 × 10⁷. Seawater is about 5 S/m, and drinking water 0.005–0.05 S/m.

Water quality meters show conductivity in µS/cm or mS/cm:

• 1 µS/cm = 0.0001 S/m
• 1 mS/cm = 0.1 S/m

How to convert conductivity and resistivity

To turn a resistivity into a conductivity, divide 1 by it, in matching units. For copper, 1.68 × 10⁻⁸ Ω·m:

σ = 1 / 0.0000000168 = 59,500,000 S/m

Resistivity units are converted in the Electrical Resistivity Converter.

Common conversions

Units of electrical conductivity

• Siemens per meter (S/m): Siemens per meter is the standard unit of electric conductivity in the International System of Units (SI). It measures the conductance of a material in Siemens (S) per unit length in meters (m).
  Conversion Factor: 1 S/m = 1 / 10^9 abS/m

• Absiemens per meter (abS/m): Absiemens per meter is an older unit of electric conductivity used in the centimeter-gram-second (CGS) system. Though not commonly used today, it is still encountered in various contexts.
  Conversion Factor: 1 abS/m = 10^9 S/m

• Statsiemens per meter (statS/m): Statsiemens per meter is another unit of electric conductivity used in the centimeter-gram-second (CGS) system, which is now mostly obsolete. Conversion Factor: 1 statS/m ≈ 1.11265 × 10^−12 S/m

Frequently asked questions

What is %IACS?

A conductivity as a percentage of the International Annealed Copper Standard, 5.8 × 10⁷ S/m. Pure copper is about 100% IACS, and aluminium about 61%. To convert, multiply the percentage by 580,000 to get S/m.