The Origin of "I" for Electrical Current
Kirt's Cogitations™ #134

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The Origin of "I" for Electrical Current

Here's an assignment for engineering new grads and technicians. Go ask your favorite engineer why the letter "I" is used as a symbol for current. Don't give him (or her) too much grief for not knowing - the vast majority of engineers I asked didn't know.

The answer: Intensity, since current was originally thought of as being how intense or concentrated the electron flow is in a circuit.

Posted January 12, 2008

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...

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The Origin of "I" for Electrical CurrentKirt's Cogitations™ #134

The Origin of "I" for Electrical Current
Kirt's Cogitations™ #134