Current density Current density In electromagnetism, current density is the electric current per unit area of cross section. The current density vector is defined as a vector whose magnitude is the electric current per cross-sectional area at a given point in space, its direction being that of the motion of the charges at this point. In SI units, the electric current density is measured in amperes per square metre. Assume that "A" (SI unit: m) is a small surface centred at a given point "M" and orthogonal to the motion of the charges at "M". If "I" (SI unit: A) is the
Current density is the charge density (SI unit: coulombs per cubic metre), in which "n"(r, "t") is the number of particles per unit volume ("number density") (SI unit: m), "q" is the charge of the individual particles with density "n" (SI unit: coulombs). A common approximation to the current density assumes the current simply is proportional to the electric field, as expressed by: where E is the electric field and "σ" is the electrical conductivity. Conductivity "σ" is the reciprocal (inverse) of electrical resistivity and has the SI units of siemens per metre (S⋅m), and E has the SI units of newtons