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 exactly , i.e. to 299.792458
volts.
The statvolt is also defined in the
CGS system as 1
erg /
statcoulomb.
It is a useful unit for
electromagnetism because, in a vacuum, an
electric field
An electric field (sometimes E-field) is the physical field that surrounds electrically charged particles and exerts force on all other charged particles in the field, either attracting or repelling them. It also refers to the physical field fo ...
of one statvolt per centimetre has the same energy density as a
magnetic field
A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...
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.
In the CGS-EMU system, the unit of voltage is the
abvolt.
Notes
References
{{CGS units
Units of electrical potential
Centimetre–gram–second system of units