About this converter
Electric current is the rate of flow of electric charge through a conductor, measured in amperes (A) — the SI base unit named after French physicist André-Marie Ampère. One ampere equals one coulomb of charge passing a point per second. Current is one of the seven fundamental SI base quantities.
Circuit designers, power engineers, and physicists convert between current units daily. Electronics engineers work with milliamperes for component ratings, power engineers handle kiloampere-scale fault currents, and electromagnetism researchers encounter biot, abampere, and CGS units in classical physics literature.
How to Use This Converter
- Enter the current value in the Value field.
- Select the source unit from the From dropdown.
- Select the target unit from the To dropdown.
- Read the converted result in the Result field.
- Use Swap to reverse the direction.
Units Covered
| Unit | Symbol | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| Ampere | A | SI base unit; used in all circuit and power system specifications. |
| Kiloampere | kA | Fault currents, arc furnaces, and lightning discharge ratings. |
| Milliampere | mA | Electronic component ratings, sensor outputs, and microcontroller I/O. |
| Biot | Bi | CGS electromagnetic unit; 1 Bi = 10 A. Used in older European texts. |
| Abampere | abA | Identical to biot; CGS-EM system unit equal to 10 A. |
| EMU of current | EMU | Same as abampere in the CGS electromagnetic unit system. |
| Statampere | stA | CGS electrostatic unit; 1 stA ≈ 3.336 × 10⁻¹⁰ A. |
| ESU of current | ESU | Same as statampere in the CGS-ES system. |
| CGS e.m. unit | CGSem | Electromagnetic CGS system; equals 10 A (same as biot/abampere). |
| CGS e.s. unit | CGSe | Electrostatic CGS system; equals statampere (≈ 3.336 × 10⁻¹⁰ A). |
Milliamperes to Amperes Conversion Table
| From | To |
|---|---|
| 1 mA | 0.001 A |
| 10 mA | 0.01 A |
| 50 mA | 0.05 A |
| 100 mA | 0.1 A |
| 200 mA | 0.2 A |
| 500 mA | 0.5 A |
| 1000 mA | 1 A |
| 2000 mA | 2 A |
| 5000 mA | 5 A |
| 10000 mA | 10 A |
How to Convert Amperes to Milliamperes
Amperes to milliamperes
For example, 0.5 A × 1000 = 500 mA — a typical USB 2.0 current limit.
Milliamperes to amperes
For example, 3200 mA / 1000 = 3.2 A — a typical fast-charge smartphone input.
When You Need to Convert Current
Electronics engineers select components by current rating in milliamperes. A USB 3.0 port supplies up to 900 mA; a standard 5 mm LED requires 20 mA; a typical microcontroller GPIO pin can source only 8–25 mA. Knowing these limits in the same unit prevents component damage. Converting datasheet ratings between A and mA is a daily task in hardware design.
Power engineers calculate fault currents in kiloamperes. A 480 V industrial panel with a short-circuit rating of 65 kA means 65,000 A must be safely interrupted. Arc flash studies, switchgear ratings, and bus bar sizing all work in kA, while relay protection settings are entered in amperes — making kA↔A conversions mandatory in power system design.
Physicists working with particle beam diagnostics and plasma devices encounter the full current range. Plasma confinement systems carry tens of kA, while individual beam scanner sensors measure in nanoamperes. CGS units like biot and statampere appear in theoretical derivations, requiring conversions when implementing textbook formulas in SI-based simulation software.