electrostatic unit

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. a unit, as a statampere, in the system of electric units derived from the force of repulsion between two static charges. esu, ESU

---

electrostatic unit British  

noun

1. Abbreviation: ESU.   e.s.u..  any unit that belongs to a system of electrical cgs units in which the electric constant is given the value of unity and is taken as a pure number Compare electromagnetic unit

---

Etymology

Origin of electrostatic unit

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

The electromagnetic unit of current defined as above is 3 � 1010 times larger than the electrostatic unit.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various

On Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory the velocity of propagation of electromagnetic disturbances should equal the velocity of light, and also the ratio of the electromagnetic unit of electricity to the electrostatic unit.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various

The same force in electrostatic units is represented by the number 100, since a gradient of 300 volts per centimetre corresponds to a force of one electrostatic unit.

From Hertzian Wave Wireless Telegraphy by Fleming, John Ambrose

From this Thomson deduced a value for the ratio of the electromagnetic unit of electricity to the electrostatic unit, and indicated methods of determining this ratio experimentally.

From Lord Kelvin An account of his scientific life and work by Gray, Andrew

In the next place we must notice that electrification is a measurable magnitude and in electrostatics is estimated in terms of a unit called the electrostatic unit of electric quantity.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various