Elementary Charge
The fundamental electric charge carried by a single proton, or the absolute value of charge carried by a single electron.
Governing formula
e = 1.602176634 × 10⁻¹⁹ C
SI unit
C
In depth
Electric charge in macroscopic systems is quantized in integer multiples of e (Q = n e). Quarks carry fractional charges (±⅓e, ±⅔e), but isolated free quarks cannot exist due to color confinement.
Examples in the real world
A current of 1 Ampere corresponds to the flow of approximately 6.24 × 10¹⁸ elementary charges per second.