Electric Charge Converter
- 5000 x 3.6 18000 coulomb
This page converts an electric charge from one unit into another. Every value passes through the coulomb, the SI unit electric charge is held in, and electric charge stays electric charge: a unit only converts inside its own dimension.
How do you convert an electric charge between coulombs and amp-hours?
Pick the unit you have, pick the unit you want, and type the value. The page multiplies by the factor between the two and prints the arithmetic under the result, so the answer and the working are the same object.
One amp-hour is 3600 C, so a 3000 mAh battery holds 10 800 C. Multiply amp-hours by 3600 for coulombs, or milliamp-hours by 3.6.
- Choose the unit your value is in. This page opens on the milliampere-hour.
- Choose the unit you want it in. This page opens on the coulomb.
- Type the value. The result and the factor behind it appear together.
- Read the working. It converts into the coulomb first and out again, which is the same two lines you would write by hand.
Electric Charge Conversion Table
One row per unit this page offers, each measured against the coulomb. The last column says whether the factor is a definition or a reading of one.
| Unit | Symbol | In the SI unit | Exact? |
|---|---|---|---|
| coulomb | C | 1 | exact |
| milliampere-hour | mAh | 3.6 | exact |
| ampere-hour | Ah | 3600 | exact |
Worked Examples
The question the bank ranked highest for this page, answered with the working.
How many coulombs is 5000 mAh?
- 5000 x 3.6 18000 coulomb
5000 mAh = 18000 C
Where These Factors Come From
Every number above is read from the knowledge base rather than computed for the page. These are the statements it holds for electric charge.
- One coulomb is one ampere second, so one ampere-hour is 3600 C. A battery rated 3000 mAh therefore stores 10 800 C.
- An SI prefix multiplies a unit by a power of ten: k is 10^3, M is 10^6, G is 10^9, m is 10^-3, micro is 10^-6 and n is 10^-9. The prefix belongs to the unit, so 1 kV is 1000 V.
- How this page reports a result result in the target charge unit; amp-hours convert through 3600 coulombs
SI prefixes on this page
| Prefix | Symbol | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| milli | m | 10^-3 |
Why Is a Battery Rated in mAh?
A battery stores charge, and a milliampere-hour is a current held for a length of time, which is charge. The rating says how much has flowed rather than how fast, so turning it into watt-hours needs the cell voltage as well.
The rule behind this factor is the same for every unit - the prefix ladder from micro to mega.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many coulombs are in an amp-hour?
3600 C.
What does mAh mean on a battery?
Milliampere-hours: a current of one milliampere held for one hour. It measures the charge a cell can deliver, which is why it belongs on this page rather than on the converter for current.
Is charge the same as energy?
No. Charge times voltage gives energy, so a milliamp-hour figure only becomes watt-hours once the voltage is known.
How many milliamp-hours is 1 coulomb?
0.2777777778 mAh.
Related Conversions
The rest of the family sits on the other electrical converters.