An electron to define the ampere

2008/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Fisika

A high-precision method may soon be available to define the standard basic unit of the current, the amp. In fact, some Finnish and American physicists have developed an electronic tool for this. It is a single-electron transistor that converts oscillating voltage into an exact electrical current. The transistor has very small tubes, due to its small size, the very repulsion force between the electrons prevents the existence of several electrons simultaneously in the system.