Electricity converters
Inductance Converter
Convert inductance units: henry, millihenry, microhenry, abhenry and stathenry.
Result
1000 µH
1 mH = 1000 µH
All units for this value
| Unit | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Henry | H | 0.001 |
| Kilohenry | kH | 0.000001 |
| Millihenry | mH | 1 |
| Microhenry | µH | 1000 |
| Nanohenry | nH | 1000000 |
| Picohenry | pH | 1000000000 |
| Weber per ampere | Wb/A | 0.001 |
| Abhenry | abH | 1000000 |
| Stathenry | statH | 1.11265e-15 |
About this calculator
Inductance measures how strongly a coil or circuit element resists a change in current by generating an opposing voltage, a key rating for coils, transformers, and chokes. This converter switches between the SI henry and its common multiples like millihenry and microhenry, as well as the CGS units abhenry and stathenry found in older references.
How it works in plain English
The converter anchors every inductance unit to the henry and rescales your entered value through that shared base for any pair of units you select. Metric prefixes such as kilo, milli, micro, nano, and pico each shift the value by a factor of a thousand, which is why practical inductors in electronic circuits are usually specified in microhenries or millihenries rather than whole henries. Weber per ampere is the combination of units that defines the henry directly, so it is numerically identical to it.
Abhenry and stathenry come from the older CGS electromagnetic and electrostatic unit systems respectively. The abhenry is a very small unit, equal to one billionth of a henry, reflecting how the electromagnetic CGS system scales differently from SI, while the stathenry is an enormous unit, matching the same large factor that relates statohms to ohms in that system. Both units mainly appear in historical physics texts rather than modern engineering documentation.
Enter a value with your chosen from and to units, and the converted inductance appears immediately, alongside a table showing that same reading expressed in every supported unit. A precision control sets how many decimal places are displayed, and a swap button reverses the two selected units in one click.
The formula
- value_in_target = value_in_source × (source factor to H) ÷ (target factor to H)
- 1 mH = 1 × 10⁻³ H
- 1 µH = 1 × 10⁻⁶ H
- 1 abH = 1 × 10⁻⁹ H
Worked example
Suppose a radio-frequency coil is specified at 4.7 microhenries and a hobbyist needs that value in nanohenries to match the units listed in a simulation tool's component library. Multiplying by the appropriate scaling factor: 4.7 µH × 1000 = 4700 nH.
Entering 4.7 into the microhenry field with nanohenry selected as the target returns 4700 immediately. Dividing that 4700 nH result by 1000 restores the original 4.7 microhenry figure, a useful check that the scaling factor was applied in the right direction. The full unit table also shows this same inductance as 0.0000047 henries and 0.0047 millihenries, both calculated automatically from that single entered figure, and reviewing that all-units table further shows the equivalent value in abhenries for comparison against older CGS-based coil specifications.
Typical inductance values for common components
| Component or example | Typical inductance |
|---|---|
| Small RF choke coil | 1 µH to 100 µH |
| Audio-frequency filter inductor | 1 mH to 100 mH |
| Power supply smoothing choke | 1 mH to 1 H |
| Transformer winding (mains, small) | ≈1 H to 10 H |
| Straight wire, 1 m length (rough estimate) | ≈1 µH |
| 1 abhenry | 1 × 10⁻⁹ H |
General electronics reference values
Frequently asked questions
Why are inductors usually rated in microhenries or millihenries rather than henries?
The henry is a relatively large unit, and most practical coils used in electronics, from radio-frequency chokes to audio filters, produce far less inductance than a full henry. Using microhenries or millihenries keeps the numbers on component labels and datasheets in a compact, easy-to-read range.
Is weber per ampere the same as a henry?
Yes. The henry is defined as exactly one weber of magnetic flux produced per ampere of current, so weber per ampere and henry describe the same quantity with no conversion factor between them. It's listed separately mainly to make that underlying definition explicit.
What is an abhenry used for?
The abhenry comes from the electromagnetic CGS unit system, an older set of units used in physics before SI became standard, and it's equal to one billionth of a henry. It mainly appears when converting inductance figures from historical scientific literature into modern units.
Does a larger inductance always mean a larger or bulkier coil?
Generally a higher inductance requires more turns of wire, a larger core, or a more permeable core material, all of which tend to increase physical size, but the exact relationship depends heavily on the core material and winding geometry used. Two coils with the same inductance can differ substantially in physical size depending on their construction.
Can I use this converter for transformer or motor winding specifications?
Yes. Enter the winding's inductance value in whatever unit its datasheet uses, select the unit you need for your calculation as the target, and the converter handles the scaling automatically. This is useful when combining component specifications from datasheets that use different metric prefixes.
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