Voltage converter
Convert between millivolts, volts, kilovolts and megavolts, and see where your figure sits between a nerve impulse and a lightning strike.
That's 9.2× as high as a railway line, while a transmission line is 1.74× higher. Ohm’s law: volts = amps × ohms.
What it means
How high is that?
Mains figures are nominal: 230 V in Europe and 120 V in North America, both varying by a few percent.
Every unit
Your voltage in every unit
Learn
Three things worth knowing
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Volts push, amps flow
Think of voltage as water pressure and current as the flow. Ohm’s law ties them together: volts = amps × ohms.
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Volta’s pile
Alessandro Volta stacked zinc and copper discs with brine-soaked cloth in 1800 and made the first battery. The unit carries his name.
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Voltage alone does not shock you
A static spark can be 20,000 volts and harmless because almost no charge flows. It is current through the body, and for how long, that does the damage.
Shortcuts
Popular voltage conversions
Background
About voltage units
Voltage is the electrical pressure pushing current through a circuit. The SI unit is the volt. Electronics works in millivolts and volts, power grids in kilovolts.