   an electric current is a flow of electric charge. in electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons in a wire. it can also be carried by ions in an electrolyte, or by both ions and electrons such as in a plasma. the si unit for measuring an electric current is the ampere, which is the flow of electric charge across a surface at the rate of one coulomb per second. electric current is measured using a device called an ammeter. electric currents can have many effects, notably heating, but they also create magnetic fields, which are used in motors, inductors and generators. ==symbol== the conventional symbol for current is , which originates from the french phrase intensitÃ© de courant, or in english current intensity.t. l. lowe, john rounce, calculations for a-level physics, p. 2, nelson thornes, 2002 isbn 0-7487-6748-7.howard m. berlin, frank c. getz, principles of electronic instrumentation and measurement, p. 37, merrill pub. co., 1988 isbn 0-675-20449-6. this phrase is frequently used when discussing the value of an electric current, but modern practice often shortens this to simply current. the  symbol was used by andrÃ©-marie ampÃ¨re, after whom the unit of electric current is named, in formulating the eponymous ampÃ¨re's force law which he discovered in 1820.a-m ampÃ¨re, recuil d'observations Ãlectro-dynamiques, p. 56, paris: chez crochard libraire 1822 (in french). the notation travelled from france to britain, where it became standard, although at least one journal did not change from using  to  until 1896.electric power, vol. 6, p. 411, 1894. ==conventions  == [[image:current notation.svg|left|230px|thumb|the electrons, the charge carriers in an electrical circuit, flow in the opposite direction of the conv
Electric_current Electricity SI_base_quantities