# Orders of magnitude (current)

To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various ampere levels.
| Factor (ampere) | Value | Item |
| 10$^{−19}$ | 160 zA | Current flow of one electron per second |
| 10$^{−12}$ | 1-15 pA | Range of currents associated with single ion channels [calcium (1 pA), sodium (10-14 pA), potassium (6 pA)] as measured by patch-clamp studies of biological membranes |
| 10$^{−5}$ | 10 μA | Minimum current necessary to cause death (by ventricular fibrillation when applied directly across the human heart) |
| 10$^{−4}$ | 700 μA | Portable hearing aid (typically 1 mW at 1.4 V) |
| 10$^{−3}$ | 1 – 5mA | Cathode ray tube electron gun beam current |
| 10$^{−2}$ | 10 mA | Through the hand to foot may cause a person to freeze and be unable to let go |
| 10$^{−2}$ | 20 mA | Common light-emitting diode (constant current); also deadly limit for skin contact (at 120–230 V) |
| 10$^{−2}$ | 80 mA | Upper limit for TENS modeled for 500 Ω |
| 10$^{−1}$ | 150 mA | 230 V AC, 22-inch/56-centimeter portable television (35 W) |
| 10$^{−1}$ | 166 mA | Typical 12 V motor vehicle instrument panel light |
| 10$^{−1}$ | 250 – 450mA | 230 V AC Tungsten incandescent light bulb (60–100 W) |
| 10$^{−1}$ | 290 mA | 120 V AC, 22-inch/56-centimeter portable television (35 W) |
| 10$^{−1}$ | 500 – 830mA | 120 V AC Tungsten incandescent light bulb (60–100 W) |
| 10$^0$ | 1 A | Typical iPhone charger (5 W) |
| 10$^0$ | 1.35 A | Tesla coil, 0.76 meters (2 ft 6 in) high, at 200 kV and 270 kV peak |
| 10$^0$ | 2.1 A | High power LED current (peak 2.7 A) |
| 10$^0$ | 5 A | One typical 12 V motor vehicle headlight (typically 60 W) |
| 10$^0$ | 9 A | 230 V AC, toaster, kettle (2 kW) |
| 10$^1$ | 10 or 20 A | 230 V AC, Europe common domestic circuit breaker rating |
| 10$^1$ | 15 or 20 A | 120 V AC, United States, Canada and Mexico domestic circuit breaker rating |
| 10$^1$ | 16.6 A | 120 V AC, toaster, kettle (2 kW) |
| 10$^1$ | 20 A | 230 V AC, Immersion heater (4.6 kW) |
| 10$^1$ | 24 A | 12V DC, PC, High-performance graphics card (288W) |
| 10$^1$ | 38.3 A | 120 V AC, Immersion heater (4.6 kW) |
| 10$^2$ | 80–160 A | Typical 12 V motor vehicle starter motor (typically 1–2 kW) |
| 10$^2$ | 80–375 A | TIG welding arc |
| 10$^2$ | 166 A | 400 V low voltage secondary side distribution transformer with primary 12 kV; 200 kVA (up to 1000 kVA also common) |
| 10$^3$ | 2 kA | 10.5 kV secondary side from an electrical substation with primary 115 kV; 63 MVA |
| 10$^3$ | 9.3 kA | 2.7V, Ultracapacitor short circuit current |
| 10$^4$ | 25 kA | Lorentz force can crusher pinch |
| 10$^4$ | 30 kA | Typical lightning strike |
| 10$^5$ | 100 kA | Low range of Birkeland current that creates Earth's aurorae |
| 10$^5$ | 140 kA | "Sq" current of one daytime vortex within the ionospheric dynamo region |
| 10$^5$ | 180 kA | Typical current used in electric arc furnace for ferroalloys |
| 10$^6$ | 1 MA | High range of Birkeland current |
| 10$^6$ | 5 MA | Flux tube between Jupiter and Io (moon) |
| 10$^6$ | 26 MA | Sandia National Laboratories, Z machine approximate firing current since 2007 |
| 10$^6$ | 256 MA | VNIIEF laboratories (Russia) current produced in explosive flux compression generator |
| 10$^9$ | 3 GA | Total current in Sol's heliospheric current sheet |
| 10$^{18}$ | 3 EA | Current of 2kpc segment of 50kpc-long radio jet of the Seyfert galaxy 3C 303 |