1. units, circular A system of units of cross-sectional area, designed especially for use in describing wire conductors. The cross-sectional area of such is universally a circle, and the areas of two wires of different sizes vary with the square of their radii or diameters. Hence if the area of a circle of known diameter is determined it may be used as a unit for the dimensions of other circles. Any other circle will have an area proportioned to the area of the unit circle, as the squares of the diameters are to each other.
In practise the commonest circular unit is the circular mil. This is the area of a circle one mil, 1/1000 inch, in diameter and is equal to .0000007854 square inch. A wire two mils in diameter has an area of four circular mils; one ten mils in diameter has an area of one hundred circular mils.
Thus if the resistance of a given length of wire 1 mil in diameter is stated, the corresponding resistance of the same length of wire of the same material, but of other diameter, is given by dividing the first wire's resistance by the square of the diameter in mils of the wire in question.
As it is a basic unit, most conveniently applied by multiplication, the smaller units are used; these are the circular mil, and circular millimeter.
Definitions of units, circular
