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kilogauss

kilogauss

8.0
A unit for measuring magnetic strength equal to one thousand gauss
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : kilogauss
  • The laboratory used a powerful magnet that produced a field of 20 kilogauss to conduct their experiments on magnetic materials.

Examples

  • At room temperature (and below), the magnetic domains in magneto-optic recording films are affected only by fields greater than several kilogauss (in comparison, the information stored on a magnetic floppy disk is affected by magnetic fields as low as a hundred gauss).

    Academic text (1996)
  • The shock from each stellar puncture of the 30-kilogauss magnetized accretion disk drags a loop of magnetic field vertically out of the rapidly rotating disk.

    Academic text (2002)
  • To understand the effects of strong magnetic fields, scientists often work with magnets that can reach up to 50 kilogauss.

  • In certain applications, a magnetic flux density of 10 kilogauss is necessary to achieve the desired results.

Surface Forms

kilogauss singular
kilogausses plural

Morphology

kilogauss = gauss (transparent) = kilo + gauss

The prefix 'kilo-' clearly indicates multiplication by one thousand, a standard metric prefix.

Etymology

Kilogauss combines kilo- ('thousand'), the same start you see in kilogram and kilometer, and gauss, the unit named after the scientist Gauss. So a kilogauss is simply one thousand gauss, a measure used for very strong magnetic fields.