1881, named for French chemist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736-1806), who devised a method of measuring electrical quantity. It is the quantity of electricity conveyed in 1 second by a current of 1 ampere. The name is a French form of Columbus.
coulomb cou·lomb (kōō'lŏm', -lōm')
n.
Abbr. C
The unit of electrical charge in the meter-kilogram-second system equal to the quantity of charge transferred in one second by a steady current of one ampere.
| Coulomb, Charles Augustin de 1736-1806. French physicist who was a pioneer in the study of magnetism and electricity. He is best known for the formulation of Coulomb's law, which he developed as a result of his investigations of Joseph Priestley's work on electrical repulsion. Coulomb also established a law governing the attraction and repulsion of magnetic poles. The coulomb unit of electric charge is named for him. |
unit of electric charge in the metre-kilogram-second-ampere system, the basis of the SI system of physical units. The coulomb is defined as the quantity of electricity transported in one second by a current of one ampere. Named for the 18th-19th-century French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, it is approximately equivalent to 6.24 1018 electrons. See electric charge.