Voltage power and current, where 1 volt = 1 watt (of power) per 1 ampere (of current). This definition is equivalent to the more commonly used 'joules per coulomb'. Voltage or electric potential difference is denoted symbolically by , but more often simply as "V", for instance in the context of Ohm's or Kirchhoff's circuit laws. Electric potential differences between points can be caused by electric charge, by electric current through a magnetic field, by time-varying magnetic fields, or some combination of these three. A voltmeter can be used to measure the voltage (or potential difference) between two points in a
Ohm 1881 the "Congrès internationale des électriciens" (international conference of electricians) defined a "practical" unit of Ohm for the resistance, based on CGS units, using a mercury column 1 sq. mm. in cross-section, approximately 104.9 cm in length at 0 °C, similar to the apparatus suggested by Siemens. A "legal" ohm, a reproducible standard, was defined by the international conference of electricians at Paris in 1884 as the resistance of a mercury column of specified weight and 106 cm long; this was a compromise value between the B. A. unit (equivalent to 104.7 cm), the Siemens unit (100 cm by definition),