Electric Current Converter
Same value in every unit
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Current is what actually hurts you
Voltage gets the warning labels, but injury is done by current. About 1 mA can be felt, 10 to 20 mA causes muscles to contract so you cannot release your grip, and roughly 100 mA across the chest can stop a heart. That is a tenth of an ampere — less than a small LED strip draws.
Everyday figures
- 20 mA — a single indicator LED
- 0.26 A — a 60 W bulb on 230 V
- 1–3 A — a phone charger
- 10 A — a domestic kettle
- 200–600 A — a car starter motor, briefly
Getting current from power
Current equals power divided by voltage. The same 60 watts needs 0.26 A at 230 V but 5 A at 12 V, which is why low-voltage circuits need much thicker cable for the same job.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Far less than most people expect. Around 1 mA is the threshold of feeling, 10 to 20 mA can make you unable to let go, and 100 mA through the chest can be fatal — a tenth of an amp. It is current that injures, not voltage, and the two are linked by resistance.
A phone charger delivers 1 to 3 A at low voltage, an LED runs on about 20 mA, a domestic kettle pulls roughly 10 A, and a car starter motor draws several hundred amps for a few seconds.
The CGS electromagnetic unit, equal to ten amperes. It appears only in older physics texts; nothing modern is specified in it, and neither is the statampere.
Divide power by voltage. A 60 W bulb on 230 V draws about 0.26 A; the same 60 W at 12 V draws 5 A. Lower voltage means more current for the same power, which is why low-voltage wiring has to be thicker.
No, the arithmetic runs in your browser.