Volt Volt The volt (symbol: V) is the derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force. It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). One volt is defined as the difference in electric potential between two points of a conducting wire when an electric current of one ampere dissipates one watt of power between those points. It is also equal to the potential difference between two parallel, infinite planes spaced 1 meter apart that create an electric field of 1 newton per coulomb. Additionally, it is the potential difference between two points that will impart
Introduction to the metric system The result is that there are a variety of different named units available to measure the same quantity (for example 10 millimetres = 1 centimetre, 100 centimetres = 1 metre, 1000 metres = 1 kilometre). Each unit and each prefix has a standard symbol (not abbreviation) associated with it. In 1861, during discussions about standardising electrical units of measure, Charles Bright and Latimer Clark proposed that these units be named, not in relation to what they are used for, or common objects, but after eminent scientists; with the electrical units of resistance, potential difference and capacitance being named the ohm,