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

RF Cafe University "Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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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

Transcat | Axiom Rental Equipment - RF Cafe

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...