- #1
Isaac0427
Gold Member
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Just out of curiosity, why is the Ampere a base unit and not the Columb? It seems to me that charge is more fundamental than current. Thanks!
And there are also a number of other reason. One very important property of the base units is that they are technologically/commercially important.. People forget that the SI is mainly a practical system for use in our everyday lives (which is why the Candela is a base unit) ; meaning practical considerations are more important that what is most satisfying from a philosophical point of view.It's easier to measure a current than a charge.
The amount of charge a battery can energize is an important specification. It basically tells you how big the battery is or how long it can last....charge is used to describe static effects, which without strong isolation and shielding are not constant,
And usually you get this specification in an albeit convoluted form, the "Amp hour", all though on its own this is quite useless, typically you also want to know how many joules you can get out of each of those charges...The amount of charge a battery can energize is an important specification. It basically tells you how big the battery is or how long it can last.