Orders of Magnitude Ampere Levels

Orders of Magnitude Ampere Levels

Factor (ampere)	Value	Item
10−19	160 zA	The current flow of one electron per second
10−12	1-15 pA	Range of currents associated with single ion channels [calcium (1 pA), sodium (10-14 pA), potassium (6 pA)] as measured by patch-clamp studies of biological membranes
10−5	10 μA	The minimum current necessary to cause death (by ventricular fibrillation when applied directly across the human heart)
10−4	700μA	Portable hearing aid (typically 1 mW at 1.4 V)
10−3	1 – 5mA	Cathode ray tube electron gun beam current
10−2	10mA	Current through the hand to the foot may cause a person to freeze and be unable to let go
	20mA	Common light-emitting diode (constant current); also the deadly limit for skin contact (at 120–230 V)
	80mA	Upper limit for TENS modeled for 500 Ω
10−1	150mA	230 V AC, 22-inch/56-centimeter portable television (35 W)
	166mA	Typical 12 V motor vehicle instrument panel light
	250 – 450mA	230 V AC Tungsten incandescent light bulb (60–100 W)
	290mA	120 V AC, 22-inch/56-centimeter portable television (35 W)
	500 – 830mA	120 V AC Tungsten incandescent light bulb (60–100 W)
100	1A	Typical iPhone charger (5 W)
	1.35A	Tesla coil, 0.76 meters (2 ft 6 in) high, at 200 kV and 270 kV peak
	2.1A	High-power LED current (peak 2.7 A)
	5A	One typical 12 V motor vehicle headlight (typically 60 W)
	9A	230 V AC, toaster, kettle (2 kW)
101	10 or 20A	230 V AC, Europe’s common domestic circuit breaker rating
	15 or 20A	120 V AC, United States, Canada, and Mexico domestic circuit breaker rating
	16.6A	120 V AC, toaster, kettle (2 kW)
	20A	230 V AC, Immersion heater (4.6 kW)
	24A	12V DC, PC, High-performance graphics card (288W)
	38.3A	120 V AC, Immersion heater (4.6 kW)
102	80-160A	Typical 12 V motor vehicle starter motor (typically 1–2 kW)
	166A	400 V low voltage secondary side distribution transformer with primary 12 kV; 200 kVA (up to 1000 kVA also common)
103	2kA	10.5 kV secondary side from an electrical substation with primary 115 kV; 63 MVA
	9.3 kA	2.7V, Ultracapacitor short circuit current
104	25 kA	Lorentz force can crusher pinch
	30 kA	Typical lightning strike
105	100 kA	The low range of Birkeland current that creates Earth’s aurorae
	140 kA	“Sq” current of one daytime vortex within the ionospheric dynamo region
	180 kA	Typical current used in electric arc furnace for ferroalloys
106	1 MA	High range of Birkeland current
	5 MA	Flux tube between Jupiter and Io (moon)
	26 MA	Sandia National Laboratories, Z machine approximate firing current since 2007
	256MA	VNIIEF laboratories (Russia) current produced in explosive flux compression generator
109	3 GA	The total current in Sol’s heliospheric current sheet
1018	3 EA	The current of a 2kpc segment of a 50kpc-long radio jet of the Seyfert galaxy 3C 303