abhenry

9.9

A very small unit for measuring electric inductance equal to one billionth of a henry

noun
/ˈæbˌhɛnri/

Archaic

: abhenrio

One abhenry is a very small unit of inductance.

Examples

In older physics textbooks, you may come across the unit abhenry for small inductances.
A nanohenry is equivalent to an abhenry in the CGS electromagnetic system.
The circuit's inductance was measured at just one abhenry due to its minimal coil size.
The inductor has a value of 5 abhenries.
In older physics textbooks, you may come across the unit abhenry for small inductances.
A nanohenry is equivalent to an abhenry in the CGS electromagnetic system.
The circuit's inductance was measured at just one abhenry due to its minimal coil size.

Surface Forms

abhenry singular

abhenries plural

Morphology

abhenry = henry (semi-transparent) = ab + henry

The prefix 'ab-' indicates a smaller unit in scientific terms, but this specific usage is not immediately obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Abhenry comes from the old electrical prefix ab- meaning 'absolute' and the unit henry, named after the scientist Joseph Henry. So an abhenry is a small 'absolute' unit of inductance used in earlier systems, equal to one billionth of a henry, written 10⁻⁹.