What is the SI Unit of Electric Potential Difference?
SI Unit of Electric Potential Difference is volt (V)
The SI unit of electric potential difference is the volt (V). Electric potential, also known as voltage measures the energy difference per unit charge between two points in an electric field. The volt is named after Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist who invented the electric battery.
This potential difference drives the flow of electric charge in circuits.
The volt is defined as one joule of energy per coulomb of charge:
1 Volt = 1 Joule/Coulomb
The formula for electric potential is:
V = U/q
Where:
- V is the electric potential (in volts, V)
- U is the electric potential energy (in joules, J)
- q is the charge (in coulombs, C)
The symbol for the volt is “V,” and it is often accompanied by unit prefixes to represent values at different scales, such as kilovolts (kV) or megavolts (mV).