What is amperage, and how is it measured?

Study for the Dental Radiology Foundation Chain and Physics Test. Enhance your skills with flashcards and multiple-choice questions, complete with hints and explanations. Prepare for your success!

Amperage is the amount of electric current—the rate at which electric charge moves through a conductor. It measures how much charge passes a given point per second, so it’s expressed in amperes (A) or milliamperes (mA). An ampere corresponds to one coulomb of charge flowing each second. You measure it with an ammeter placed in series in a circuit so all current flows through the meter. This is different from energy per photon (which describes photon energy), electrical resistance (measured in ohms), and electrical potential (voltage, measured in volts). In practice, amperage tells you how strong the current is; in dental imaging, this relates to the tube current and the number of X-ray photons produced, since higher current means more photons and greater exposure.