Gaussian units are an electromagnetic unit convention in which factors of the speed of light and appear differently from SI. In vacuum, the electrostatic Coulomb's law is written for two point charges, with no explicit .
The convention changes the dimensions assigned to electric charge, not the predicted force. For example, the Lorentz force is written in Gaussian units, whereas SI uses . One must convert the quantities and equations together: inserting SI field values into an unchanged Gaussian formula gives an inconsistent calculation.
Gaussian units refer to a system of units used in electromagnetism, which is based on the Gaussian system of measurements. These units are a special case of the cgs (centimeter-gram-second) system, and they are primarily used in theoretical physics, particularly in the context of classical electrodynamics. In the Gaussian system: - The fundamental units are the centimeter (cm) for length, gram (g) for mass, and second (s) for time.
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