Tesla (unit) facts for kids

The tesla (symbol T) is a special unit used to measure how strong a magnetic field is. It's part of the SI system, which is like the worldwide standard for measurements. Imagine a magnetic field as an invisible area around a magnet where its force can be felt. The tesla tells us just how powerful that force is.

The tesla unit was officially created in 1960 by a group called the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM). They decided to name it after a brilliant scientist, electrical engineer, and inventor named Nikola Tesla. He did amazing work with electricity and magnetism.

What is a Tesla?

A tesla measures the strength of a magnetic field. Think of it like this: the stronger the magnetic field, the more teslas it has. It's a very strong unit!

To understand how strong one tesla is, you can think of it in terms of other units. For example, one tesla is equal to one weber of magnetic flow spread over one square meter. This means if you have a certain amount of magnetic "stuff" (webers) packed into a small area, the magnetic field will be very strong.

Here are some of the basic units that make up a tesla:

• A = ampere (measures electric current)
• C = coulomb (measures electric charge)
• kg = kilogram (measures mass)
• m = meter (measures length)
• N = newton (measures force)
• s = second (measures time)
• V = volt (measures electric potential)
• Wb = weber (measures magnetic flux)

The tesla is a very large unit. Another older unit for magnetic field strength is the gauss. One tesla is equal to 10,000 gauss! So, if you hear about something measured in gauss, you know it's much weaker than something measured in teslas.

How Strong is a Tesla?

Here are some examples to help you understand the strength of different magnetic fields:

• 0.000031 to 0.000058 T – This is the strength of the Earth's magnetic field right at its surface. It's what makes compasses work!
• 0.005 T – This is about how strong a typical refrigerator magnet is.
• 0.3 T – This is the strength of magnetic spots on the Sun, called sunspots.
• 1.25 T – This is the strength you'd find on the surface of a powerful neodymium magnet.
• 1.5 to 3 T – These are the strengths used in medical MRI systems. These machines use strong magnets to take pictures inside your body.
• 4 T – This is the strength of a huge superconducting magnet used in the CMS detector at CERN, a famous science lab.
• 13 T – This is the strength of the magnetic field inside the ITER fusion reactor, an experimental machine designed to create energy like the Sun.
• 16 T – This incredibly strong magnetic field was used in a famous experiment to make a frog float in the air!

See also

In Spanish: Tesla (unidad) para niños