abmho
Extremely Rare / TechnicalTechnical, Historical, Specialised Scientific
Definition
Meaning
A unit of electrical conductance, equal to one siemens.
The cgs (centimetre-gram-second) electromagnetic unit of conductance, used in older scientific literature; it is the reciprocal of the unit of resistance, the abohm.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
An obsolete unit superseded by the SI unit siemens. Only encountered in very specific historical scientific texts or discussions of measurement systems.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No national differences in meaning or usage. Its use has been equally obsolete in both scientific communities for decades.
Connotations
Archaic, historical, highly technical.
Frequency
Virtually never used in modern contexts. Its mention is typically metathetical, such as 'mho' or 'siemens' being more common.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
The conductance was measured in abmhos.equal to X abmhosVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Not used.
Academic
Rarely used, only in historical analyses of physics or electrical engineering literature.
Everyday
Never used.
Technical
Obsolete technical term. Might appear in footnotes or explanations of older publications.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- In older textbooks, electrical conductance was sometimes measured in abmhos.
- The 1920s experiment recorded a conductance of precisely five abmhos, a unit rendered obsolete by the adoption of the SI system.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think 'AB' (from abohm) + 'MHO' (the old name for siemens, which is ohm spelled backwards). An ABMHO is the conductance unit related to the ABohm.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with абсолютный мho (abmho is a direct borrowing). The modern Russian term is сименс (siemens).
Common Mistakes
- Misspelling as 'abmo' or 'ambho'.
- Confusing it with the modern SI unit siemens in current calculations.
Practice
Quiz
What is an 'abmho'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is an obsolete unit. The modern SI unit for electrical conductance is the siemens (S).
One abmho is equal to one siemens. They measure the same quantity, but 'siemens' is the modern, standard name.
It is formed from 'ab-' (prefix for the cgs electromagnetic system) and 'mho' (the old name for siemens, which is 'ohm' spelled backwards).
Only in very old scientific papers, historical physics texts, or discussions about the evolution of measurement systems.