I have never understood why Amps are refered to as "I" - can someone explain?
2007-03-21 12:48:07 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Y'know, I knew it once and could look up where the "I" came from, but I've been in it so long and been so used to it that it doesn't bug me a bit...... tho I will say that the ampere is a unit of "I", not "I" itself. In other words, the most common unit of current "I" is the ampere, "A", and it is equal to 1 coulomb/sec of electrons.
2007-03-21 12:55:14 · answer #1 · answered by Gary H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think because the letter A was designated long ago to denote area, which is such a fundamental physical property,long before electric current was discovered. Also, the current that can run through something is proportional to its area, in which case you would have the letter A representing two different variables in the same equation. I'm not sure why they picked "I", perhaps it was the letter that represented the least other physical properties that scientists knew of at that time. The only other variable I can think of that I represents is inertia, and I don't think there are any equations out there that relate the current in something to its inertia, hence no confusion.
2007-03-22 17:34:35 · answer #2 · answered by dylan k 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is probably because the positive x axis is usually represented as X. The electric field surrounding a wire follows the 'right hand rule' around the positive I direction, in the same way that a positive torque follows the right hand rule around the I axis.
2007-03-21 20:56:49 · answer #3 · answered by Captain_Marc 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I is for intensity. Another one you might see that seems strange is E for voltage, which stands for electromotive force.
2007-03-22 05:13:12 · answer #4 · answered by Ryan A 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋