A unit of electric current in the centimeter-gram-second (CGS) system, equal to 10 amperes in the modern International System.
From 'abampere' (absolute ampere) in CGS electromagnetic units, 'ab-' being short for 'absolute' and combining with 'ampere' named after physicist André-Marie Ampère.
The CGS system seems abandoned now, but it was how scientists measured electricity for 100 years—switching to SI units was like switching from Fahrenheit to Celsius, frustrating for older scientists but essential for global standardization.
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