What does kilogauss mean?
A kilogauss is a unit used to measure magnetic flux density, the strength of a magnetic field at a particular location. It equals 1,000 gauss, or 0.1 tesla, and the abbreviation kG is commonly used in technical contexts. The term is especially associated with older scientific literature and with the description of strong magnetic fields produced by magnets and laboratory equipment, although the tesla is preferred in modern SI-based measurement. A field measured in kilogausses is relatively strong by everyday standards: Earth’s magnetic field is only a few hundredths of a gauss, or roughly 0.00005 gauss at the surface. The word combines the prefix kilo-, meaning one thousand, with gauss, the unit named after the German mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss. Although still useful for discussing powerful magnets and historical experimental results, kilogauss is chiefly encountered in specialized technical writing rather than everyday speech.
nounA unit of magnetic flux density equal to 1,000 gauss, or 0.1 tesla. It is used mainly in older scientific and technical literature and in descriptions of strong magnetic fields.
- A unit of magnetic flux density equal to 1,000 gauss or 0.1 tesla.
"The instrument measured the magnetic field at approximately 2.5 kilogausses."
"The magnet produced a field of about 3 kilogausses near its poles."
"Early laboratory instruments commonly reported magnetic flux density in kilogausses."
The standard plural adds -es to the noun and is used when referring to multiple values of magnetic flux density.
"The magnets produced fields ranging from 0.5 to 8 kilogausses."
A kilogauss may sound modest, but in magnetic-field measurements it represents a field 100,000 times stronger than Earth’s.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of kilogauss
Kilogauss combines the metric prefix kilo-, meaning one thousand, with gauss, a unit of magnetic flux density named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. The gauss was adopted into the International System of Units as a unit of magnetic flux density and was later made obsolete in favor of the tesla. The larger units megagauss and gigagauss follow the same naming pattern and are encountered in specialized descriptions of exceptionally strong magnetic fields.
How kilogauss is actually used
The unit is now less common in scientific publishing than the tesla, but it remains familiar in older literature and in discussions of strong magnetic fields. It is normally written as “kilogauss” in full or “kG” in symbols.
Easily confused with kilogauss
A kilogauss is 1,000 gauss, so it is a larger unit of magnetic flux density.
One kilogauss equals 0.1 tesla, making the tesla the larger SI-compatible unit.