Definition
A unit of electric charge in the centimeter-gram-second (CGS) electromagnetic system, equal to 10 coulombs. One abcoulomb is the quantity of charge that passes a point in one second when a current of one abampere flows.
Plain English
An older, larger unit for measuring electric charge. One abcoulomb equals ten of the standard coulombs used today.
Context Anchor
Seen mainly in older electrical theory references or maintenance texts when discussing electric charge and unit conversions.
Derivation
The prefix 'ab-' comes from 'absolute,' marking units in the older CGS electromagnetic system. So 'abcoulomb' simply means the CGS-system version of the coulomb.
Why Pilots Care
This term is rare in everyday flying, but aviation maintenance and electrical references may use older units. Knowing that an abcoulomb equals 10 coulombs prevents a simple unit-conversion error.
Intuition Check
Do not read “ab-” as a normal English prefix meaning “away from.” Here it marks an older electrical measurement system.
Example Sentence 1
The textbook noted that one abcoulomb equals ten coulombs in the modern SI system.
Example Sentence 2
The technician converted the measured charge from abcoulombs to coulombs before checking the aircraft's bonding straps.