Voltage Converter
Precision electrical potential conversion for engineering, electronics, and scientific applications.
Understanding Electrical Voltage Units
Voltage, often referred to as electric potential difference, is the force that pushes charged electrons through a conducting loop, enabling them to do work such as illuminating a light or spinning a motor. The standard unit of measurement is the Volt (V), named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta. Whether you are an electrical engineer designing a power grid or a hobbyist working with Arduino, converting between different scales of voltage is a daily necessity.
Metric Prefixes: From Micro to Mega
The metric system makes scaling voltage straightforward using powers of ten.
• Millivolt (mV): One-thousandth of a volt (10-3 V). Commonly seen in sensor outputs and audio signals.
• Microvolt (µV): One-millionth of a volt (10-6 V). Used in sensitive radio frequency (RF) equipment and biophysics (EEG signals).
• Kilovolt (kV): One thousand volts (103 V). Standard for local power distribution lines.
• Megavolt (MV): One million volts (106 V). Used in high-energy physics experiments and long-distance power transmission.
Logarithmic Units: dBV and dBu
In audio engineering and telecommunications, voltage is often expressed logarithmically to manage the vast dynamic ranges of signals.
• dBV: A decibel unit relative to 1 Volt. 0 dBV is exactly 1V.
• dBu: A decibel unit relative to roughly 0.775 Volts. This historic reference comes from the voltage required to duce 1 milliwatt of power across a 600-ohm impedance, common in early telephone systems.
This tool accurately converts linear voltage (V) to these logarithmic scales (dB), handling the complex math instantly.
Voltage in Travel and Electronics
Understanding voltage is also crucial for international travel. Most of the Americas operate on 110-120V, while Europe and Asia use 220-240V. Plugging a 110V device into a 220V outlet without a converter can result in immediate failure. While this tool focuses on unit conversion, it serves as a fundamental reference for verifying that your readings (e.g., 230,000 mV) match the expected standard (230 V) of your destination's power grid.