Orders of magnitude (voltage)

To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various voltage levels.

SI prefix	Factor (volt)	Value	Item
micro	10−7	0.5 µV	Change in nerve cell potential caused by opening a single acetylcholine receptor channel
	10−6	2 µV	Noise in an EEG taken at the scalp
milli	10−5	10–100 µV	Peak-to-peak amplitude of an average EEG taken at the scalp
		15 µV	Minimum terrestrial digital-TV RF antenna signal (−85 dBm over 75 Ω)
		56 µV	Minimum terrestrial analog-TV RF antenna signal (35 dB[µV])
	10−4	0.5–1 mV	Miniature endplate potentials, spontaneous fluctuations in neuron potentials
	10−3	1–2 mV	potential created at ambient temperatures from K Type Thermocouple
centi	10−2	~10–50 mV	Ripple voltage in the output of a good DC power supply
		75 mV	Nerve cell resting potential
deci	10−1	0.32 V	Typical voltage reference level in consumer audio electronics (0.316 V rms)
		~0.5 V	Typical MOSFET threshold voltage for modern processes
		~0.7 V	Forward voltage drop of normal silicon diodes
		0.8–1.0 V	Typical positive supply voltage of a low voltage CMOS digital integrated circuit
		0.9 V	Lemon battery cell (made with copper and zinc electrodes)
N/A	100	0-3 V	Magnitudes of standard reduction potentials in chemistry
		1.5 V	Alkaline battery AA, AAA, C or D battery
		3.3 V	One of the most common low voltage CMOS digital circuit supply voltages.
		5 V	USB power, used for example to charge a cell phone or a digital camera. Also one of the most common digital circuit supply voltages for both TTL and CMOS technologies.
		6 V	A common voltage for medium-size electric lanterns. A voltage for older electric systems of automobiles.
deca	101	12 V	Typical car battery
hecto	102	110–240 V	Domestic wall socket voltage
		600 V	Electric eel sends this voltage in an average attack
		630 V	London Underground railway tracks
kilo	103	2450 V	Electric chair execution in Nebraska
		3–10 kV	Electric fence
		3–35 kV	Accelerating voltage for a typical television cathode ray tube
		3300 V	Common early urban distribution voltage for grid electricity in the UK (still used for many industrial overhead cable distribution systems)
		4160-34,500 V	Typical voltages in North America for distribution of power from distribution substations to end users
	104	15 kV	Train 15 kV AC railway electrification overhead lines, 16⅔ Hz
		25 kV	European high-speed train overhead power lines
		69–230 kV	Range used in North American power high-voltage transmission substations
	105	345–800 kV	Range used in EHV power transmission systems
		800 kV	Lowest voltage used by ultra-high voltage (UHV) power transmission systems
mega	106	3 MV	Used by the ultra-high voltage electron microscope at Osaka University
	107	25.5 MV	The largest man-made voltage – produced in a Van de Graaff generator at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
	108	100 MV	The potential difference between the ends of a typical lightning bolt
peta	1015	7 PV	Voltage around a particular energetic highly magnetized rotating neutron star
N/A	1027	1.04×1027 V	The Planck voltage

SI multiples

SI multiples for volt (V)

Submultiples				Multiples
Value	SI symbol	Name		Value	SI symbol	Name
10−1 V	dV	decivolt		101 V	daV	decavolt
10−2 V	cV	centivolt		102 V	hV	hectovolt
10−3 V	mV	millivolt		103 V	kV	kilovolt
10−6 V	µV	microvolt		106 V	MV	megavolt
10−9 V	nV	nanovolt		109 V	GV	gigavolt
10−12 V	pV	picovolt		1012 V	TV	teravolt
10−15 V	fV	femtovolt		1015 V	PV	petavolt
10−18 V	aV	attovolt		1018 V	EV	exavolt
10−21 V	zV	zeptovolt		1021 V	ZV	zettavolt
10−24 V	yV	yoctovolt		1024 V	YV	yottavolt