Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

Statvolt

The statvolt is the unit of voltage and electrical potential used in the cgs system of units. The conversion is
1 statvolt = 299.792458 volts.
It is a useful unit for electromagnetism because one statvolt per centimeter is equal in magnitude to one gauss. Thus, for example, an electric field of one statvolt/cm has the same energy density as a magnetic field of one gauss. Likewise, light 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.