Convert Volts/Inch to Kilovolts/Centimeter
Volt/Inch (V/in) to Kilovolt/Centimeter (kV/cm) electric field strength conversion — enter any value below to get an instant result, or use the table for common values.
Results from this calculator are estimates provided for general informational purposes only, based on formulas, rates, and standards commonly accepted as of 2026. Figures may differ slightly from other calculators or professional sources due to rounding methods, differing assumptions, or regional regulations, and rules may change over time. Always consult a qualified professional — such as a financial advisor, healthcare provider, or other relevant specialist — before making decisions based on these results.
Result
1 V/in = 0.00039370079 kV/cm
1 Volt/Inch = 0.00039370079 Kilovolts/Centimeter
1 Kilovolt/Centimeter = 2540 Volts/Inch
1 V/in in every supported unit
Conversion chart: Volt/Inch to Kilovolts/Centimeter
Conversion table
| Volt/Inch (V/in) | Kilovolt/Centimeter (kV/cm) |
|---|---|
| 0.01 V/in | 3.93701E-06 kV/cm |
| 0.1 V/in | 3.93701E-05 kV/cm |
| 1 V/in | 0.00039370079 kV/cm |
| 2 V/in | 0.00078740157 kV/cm |
| 3 V/in | 0.0011811024 kV/cm |
| 5 V/in | 0.0019685039 kV/cm |
| 10 V/in | 0.0039370079 kV/cm |
| 20 V/in | 0.0078740157 kV/cm |
| 50 V/in | 0.019685039 kV/cm |
| 100 V/in | 0.039370079 kV/cm |
| 1000 V/in | 0.39370079 kV/cm |
Volt/Inch (V/in)
Definition: An imperial-scale unit of electric field strength equal to one volt per inch, the base imperial unit this category's inch-based variants are built from.
History: It emerged from the same imperial-measurement convention as kilovolt/inch and volt/mil, giving American engineering a field-strength unit consistent with inch-based device and material dimensions.
Current use: Occasionally used in small-scale imperial engineering calculations, though volt/mil is far more common in practice for insulation and dielectric work at this scale.
Kilovolt/Centimeter (kV/cm)
Definition: A metric-centimeter variant of electric field strength equal to 100,000 volts per meter, giving materials scientists a conveniently scaled unit for describing breakdown fields across thin samples.
History: Adopted because dielectric breakdown testing is typically performed on thin material samples measured in centimeters or millimeters, making kilovolts per centimeter a more natural reporting unit than the base volt per meter for that scale of measurement.
Current use: The standard unit in materials science and electrical engineering for reporting the dielectric breakdown strength of insulators, thin films, and cable insulation layers.
Supported Units
| Unit | Symbol | In Volt/Meter |
|---|---|---|
| Volt/Meter | V/m | 1 V/m |
| Kilovolt/Meter | kV/m | 1000 V/m |
| Kilovolt/Centimeter | kV/cm | 100000 V/m |
| Volt/Centimeter | V/cm | 100 V/m |
| Millivolt/Meter | mV/m | 0.001 V/m |
| Microvolt/Meter | µV/m | 1E-06 V/m |
| Kilovolt/Inch | kV/in | 39370.079 V/m |
| Volt/Inch | V/in | 39.370079 V/m |
| Volt/Mil | V/mil | 39370.079 V/m |
| Abvolt/Centimeter | abV/cm | 1E-06 V/m |
| Statvolt/Centimeter | stV/cm | 29979.2 V/m |
| Statvolt/Inch | stV/in | 11802.835 V/m |
| Newton/Coulomb | N/C | 1 V/m |
About These Parameters
- Value
- The electric field strength value you want to convert, expressed in the "From" unit. Accepts decimals, and can represent anything from a weak ambient field measured in microvolts per meter to a dielectric breakdown rating measured in kilovolts per centimeter.
- From Unit
- The unit your input value is currently measured in — a metric volt/meter or kilovolt/meter reading, an imperial volt/mil insulation rating, or a historical figure quoted in statvolt/centimeter or another CGS-Gaussian field-strength unit.
- To Unit
- The unit you want the result converted into. Use the swap button to flip From and To instantly, which is handy when translating a metric field-strength figure into an imperial volt/mil rating or vice versa.
How Electric Field Strength Conversion Works
The Formula
Every unit here is defined by a fixed multiplier relative to the volt per meter. To convert a value from one unit to another:
result = value × (factor of "From" unit ÷ factor of "To" unit)
For Volt/Inch → Kilovolt/Centimeter: multiply by 0.00039370079. For example, 1 V/in × 0.00039370079 = 0.00039370079 kV/cm.
Two Ways to Define the Same Quantity
Electric field strength can be arrived at from two different directions that land on the exact same unit. The first is via electric potential: a field strength in volts per meter is simply how quickly potential changes as you move through space, so a 12-volt potential difference spread evenly across 1 meter is a 12 V/m field. The second is via force: the Lorentz force law, F = qE, defines the field E directly as the force it exerts on a charge divided by that charge's size, giving the equivalent unit newton per coulomb (N/C). Both routes describe the identical physical quantity, which is why volt/meter and newton/coulomb carry a conversion factor of exactly 1 on this page — physics textbooks introduce the force-based N/C definition first, then show the potential-based V/m form once students have covered electric potential.
Why Volt/Mil Matters in the Insulation Industry
A "mil" is one-thousandth of an inch, and volt/mil became the standard unit for dielectric strength in North American wire and cable manufacturing because insulation and coating thicknesses are conventionally specified in mils. Rating a material's breakdown strength directly in volts per mil lets an engineer compare it straight against a coating's thickness spec without converting units first — a wire insulation rated at 500 V/mil, for instance, can withstand about 500 volts for every mil (0.001 inch) of coating thickness before the material breaks down electrically. Because it is numerically equal to kilovolt/inch (both describe 1,000 volts across an inch of material, just grouped differently), the two units are often used interchangeably in engineering specifications.
Example
An electric field strength of 1 V/in equals 0.00039370079 kV/cm. For scale, the electric field near the Earth's surface on a fair-weather day is roughly 100-150 volts per meter, the field inside a typical parallel-plate capacitor can reach several kilovolts per centimeter, and dry air begins to electrically break down (arc) at around 3 million volts per meter (3 kV/mm).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Kilovolts/Centimeter are in 1 Volt/Inch?
1 Volt/Inch (V/in) equals exactly 0.00039370079 Kilovolts/Centimeter (kV/cm).
What is the difference between volt/meter and volt/centimeter?
Volt/centimeter is 100 times larger than volt/meter, since a centimeter is one-hundredth of a meter — spreading the same voltage over a shorter distance produces a stronger field. Volt/centimeter is the more natural unit for lab-scale measurements like gel electrophoresis, while volt/meter is the SI-coherent unit used in most physics and engineering formulas.
Why are volt/mil and kilovolt/inch the same value?
A mil is one-thousandth of an inch, so one volt per mil describes the same field concentration as 1,000 volts spread across a full inch — which is exactly what one kilovolt per inch means. The two units describe the identical physical field strength using different but numerically equivalent groupings of volts and distance.
Is newton/coulomb really the same as volt/meter?
Yes — both are the SI-coherent definition of electric field strength, just arrived at from different starting points. Newton/coulomb comes from the Lorentz force law (force per unit charge), while volt/meter comes from potential divided by distance. They are dimensionally identical and carry a conversion factor of exactly 1.
Why is statvolt/centimeter so much larger than volt/meter?
Statvolt/centimeter comes from the CGS electrostatic (Gaussian) unit system, built directly from Coulomb's law rather than the SI's ampere-based conventions. The roughly 30,000x size gap between statvolt/centimeter and volt/meter traces back to the speed of light, which relates the electrostatic and electromagnetic CGS unit families to each other and to the SI.