Electric Conductance Converter

About Electric Conductance Conversion

Electric conductance is a measure of how easily electric current flows through a conductor or circuit. It is the reciprocal of electrical resistance and quantifies a material's ability to allow the flow of electric current. The SI unit for electrical conductance is the siemens (S), formerly known as the mho (℧).

Common Electric Conductance Conversions

• 1 siemens (S) = 1,000 millisiemens (mS)
• 1 siemens (S) = 1,000,000 microsiemens (μS)
• 1 siemens (S) = 1,000,000,000 nanosiemens (nS)
• 1 kilosiemens (kS) = 1,000 siemens (S)
• 1 megasiemens (MS) = 1,000,000 siemens (S)
• 1 siemens (S) = 1 mho (℧)
• 1 siemens (S) = 1,000,000 micromhos (μ℧)
• 1 siemens (S) = 8.99 × 10¹¹ statsiemens (statS)
• 1 absiemens (abS) = 10⁹ siemens (S)
• 1 siemens (S) = 1 ampere per volt (A/V) = 1 reciprocal ohm (1/Ω)

Understanding Electric Conductance

Electric conductance (G) is defined as the reciprocal of electric resistance (R):

G = 1/R

It is also defined by Ohm's law as the ratio of current (I) to voltage (V):

G = I/V

The SI unit for electrical conductance is the siemens (S), named after the German inventor and industrialist Werner von Siemens. One siemens is equal to one ampere per volt (A/V) or one reciprocal ohm (1/Ω).

Historically, conductance was measured in the unit called "mho" (which is "ohm" spelled backward), symbolized by an inverted uppercase omega (℧). Although "mho" is now largely obsolete, it is still occasionally encountered in older literature and some specialized fields.

Applications of Electric Conductance

Understanding and measuring electric conductance is important in many fields:

• Electrical engineering (component specifications, circuit analysis)
• Electronics (PCB design, signal integrity)
• Power transmission (conductor sizing, efficiency calculations)
• Chemistry (electrolyte solutions, conductometric titrations)
• Analytical chemistry (conductivity detectors)
• Water quality testing (conductivity measurements)
• Biomedical engineering (biosensors, impedance measurements)

Conductance in Parallel and Series Circuits

For components connected in parallel, the total conductance is the sum of the individual conductances:

G_total = G₁ + G₂ + ... + G_n

This is analogous to the way resistances add in series circuits. For components connected in series, the reciprocal of the total conductance is the sum of the reciprocals of the individual conductances:

1/G_total = 1/G₁ + 1/G₂ + ... + 1/G_n

This relationship is analogous to the way resistances add in parallel circuits.

Conductance vs. Conductivity

It's important to distinguish between conductance and conductivity:

• Conductance (G) is a property of a specific object or circuit, measured in siemens (S).
• Conductivity (σ) is a material property, independent of the object's size or shape, measured in siemens per meter (S/m).

The relationship between conductance and conductivity for a conductor with uniform cross-section is:

G = σ × A/L

Where A is the cross-sectional area and L is the length of the conductor.

Typical Conductance Values

• Superconductors: Theoretically infinite conductance
• Copper wire (1mm² cross-section, 1m length): ~58 S
• Typical resistors in electronics: 0.001 S (1 kΩ resistor) to 1 S (1 Ω resistor)
• Typical capacitors (at specific frequencies): 0.01 μS to 1 mS
• Human body: ~100 μS to 10 mS (varies greatly with conditions)
• Deionized water: ~5.5 μS/cm (at 25°C)
• Drinking water: ~0.005 to 0.05 S/m
• Seawater: ~5 S/m

Our electric conductance converter provides accurate conversions between all these units, making it easy to translate between different measurement systems for electrical engineering, electronics design, and educational purposes.