Ampere Ampere The ampere (; symbol: A), often shortened to "amp", is the base unit of electric current in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836), French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics. The International System of Units defines the ampere in terms of other base units by measuring the electromagnetic force between electrical conductors carrying electric current. The earlier CGS measurement system had two different definitions of current, one essentially the same as the SI's and the other using electric charge as the base unit, with the unit of charge defined by
2019 redefinition of SI base units effect of redefining the SI base units, though the definitions of the SI derived units in terms of the base units remain the same. Following the CCU proposal, the text of the definitions of all the base units was either refined or rewritten changing the emphasis from explicit-unit to explicit-constant type definitions. Explicit-unit type definitions define a unit in terms of a specific example of that unit – for example in 1324 Edward II defined the inch as being the length of three barleycorns and since 1889 the kilogram has been defined as being the mass of the International Prototype