gilbert

gilbert — noun

1. a gilbert is an older cgs measurement for the magnetic driving force in a circui

1.nounC2
Definition

a gilbert is an older cgs measurement for the magnetic driving force in a circuit; one gilbert is about 0.8 ampere-turn.

Example

Eli wrote 20 gilberts beside the coil diagram in his lab notebook.

pattern: [number] + gilberts

Shanti compared the coil's reading in gilberts with the ampere-turn result.

technical comparison: gilberts and ampere-turns

Grammar Patterns

[number] + gilbert(s)

measure ... in gilberts

Usage Note

Used mainly in older physics texts and historical discussions of the cgs system. Modern materials often express the same idea in ampere-turns instead.

Common Mistakes

The meter showed 20 gilberts of magnetic field.
The meter showed 20 gilberts of magnetomotive force.
A gilbert measures magnetomotive force, not magnetic field strength.
The motor needed 20 gilbert.
The motor needed 20 gilberts.
Use the plural form after numbers larger than one.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Gilbert and ampere-turn both refer to magnetomotive force, but gilbert belongs to the older cgs system and appears mostly in historical or specialist material. Ampere-turn is the term learners are more likely to meet in modern engineering because it fits the SI-style way of describing how strongly a coil drives magnetic flux. Tesla and oersted are different: they describe magnetic field strength or flux density, not the driving force inside the circuit. So if a textbook says a coil produces two gilberts, it is talking about the force pushing the magnetic effect through the circuit, not the field measurement you would report in teslas or oersteds.

ampere-turn ↗teslaoersted

Etymology

English surnameEnglish

The unit is named after William Gilbert, the English physician and natural philosopher whose work on magnetism influenced later science. Scientists later used his surname for this cgs measurement in magnetism.

First known use

1893

1893, in the meaning defined above