gauss square centimeter Unit Converter

Definition of gauss square centimeter unit

A gauss square centimeter is a CGS unit of magnetic flux, equal to one gauss multiplied by one square centimeter. It is exactly one maxwell (Mx), and corresponds to 10⁻⁸ weber in the International System of Units (SI).

History of gauss square centimeter unit

The unit belongs to the centimetre-gram-second (CGS) electromagnetic system, developed during the nineteenth century, when scientists measured magnetic fields in gauss and flux in maxwells. The maxwell was named for James Clerk Maxwell, whose theories unified electricity and magnetism. A maxwell was defined as one gauss-square-centimeter, reflecting the relationship between field strength and area. Although the gauss and maxwell remained common in physics and engineering, international standards increasingly adopted the SI tesla and weber. Today, “gauss square centimeter” survives mainly as an explanatory or calculator-friendly expression of the maxwell.

Applications of gauss square centimeter unit

Today, the unit is encountered primarily in older CGS literature, magnetism textbooks, and historical data sheets. It can describe the flux through a one-square-centimeter area in a uniform one-gauss field. The maxwell is occasionally retained in specialized discussions of magnetic materials, sensors, and hysteresis, but modern calculations normally convert it to webers: 1 Mx = 10⁻⁸ Wb.

Complete list of gauss square centimeter unit conversion