Linear charge density converter
Convert charge per length between C/m, µC/m, nC/m, e/nm and esu/cm.
That's about the same as a rubbed glass rod. One meter from a long line like that, the electric field is about 1,798 V/m.
What it means
How charged is that line?
Figures are typical. A power line’s charge follows its voltage and height; a lightning leader’s varies from stroke to stroke.
Every unit
Your line charge in every unit
Learn
Three things worth knowing
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1 e/nm ≈ 0.16 nC/m
DNA carries two elementary charges every 0.34 nm, about 0.94 nC/m.
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Gauss’s law for a line
Wrap a cylinder around a long charged line and the field through its side is λ/ε₀ per meter. That is where the 2π r in the field comes from.
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1/r, not 1/r²
A point charge’s field falls with the square of distance; a long line’s falls only with distance. Doubling the distance halves it.
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Popular line charge conversions
Background
About linear charge density
Linear charge density, written λ, is the charge carried along each meter of something long and thin: a wire, a charged rod, a beam of particles, a DNA strand.
It sets the electric field around the line: at distance r the field is λ ÷ (2π ε₀ r), falling off with distance, not with its square.