tesla is T. It is the standard unit of magnetic flux density used to measure

field intensity for magnetic fields. It is also known as magnetic induction.

Flux is the flow of energy through a surface or the inhabitance of a force field

in a certain physical medium. Tesla is measured by placing a current-carrying

conductor on the magnetic field. The magnetic field employs a force on the

conductor, a force that depends on the amount of the current and the length of

the conductor.

One tesla is the same as one kilogram per second squared per ampere (Kg x s-2 x

A-1). One tesla can generate the field intensity of one Newton of force per

ampere of current per meter of conductor. The unit tesla is a relatively large

measurement of magnetic flux density. The practical application of tesla is

generally in industrial electromagnets because it is a large unit. In

laboratories the strongest magnetic fields generated amount to about 20 T. The

earth's magnetic flux at the surface is 50 T. For lower levels of

magnetic force the unit gauss (G) is used. One tesla is equal to 10 000 gauss

(1 T = 104 G).

This unit was named after Nikola Tesla (1856 - 1943). Tesla was one of three

American scientists to be honoured with an international unit. He was a

Serbian-American scientist who was interested in electrical engineering. Much

of his research laid out the basis for today's electrical systems. Tesla had

over 700 patents, including the Telsa coil transformer, radio and fluorescent

lighting. His work was often so ground-breaking that other scientists could not

appreciate it due to lack of comprehension. It is only until recently that his

work is really understood and appreciated.

Bibliography

Rowlett, R. (2000), A Dictionary of Units of Measurements [WWW Document]

Retrieved March 12, 2004 from: http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictT.html

TechTarget. (2004), tesla [WWW Document] Retrieved March 12, 2004 from:

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0%2C%2Csid9_gci533509%2C00.html