U.S. Electrical unitsIn 1894, eight units for the measurement of electrical magnitudes were adopted in U.S. law when President Grover Clevelandsigned an Act of Congress “to define and establish the units of electrical measure” for the ohm, ampere, volt, coulomb, farad, joule, watt and henry. It was specified to be “the duty of the Academy of Sciences to prescribe ... such specifications of details as shall be necessary for the practical application of the definitions.” The Act followed anInternational Congress held at Chicago in 1893, in connection with the World's Fair. There, a Chamber of Delegates from various nations deliberated on the definitions. The International Congress was largely due to the Institute of Electrical Engineers and to local societies in the city of Chicago.« |
