Convert Circular Mil (circ mil) to Square Centimeter (cm²) instantly.
About these units
Circular Mil (circ mil)
A circular mil is defined as the area of a circle with a diameter of exactly one mil. Because wires and cables have circular cross-sections, the circular mil has become a standard unit in electrical engineering for specifying conductor sizes. One circular mil simplifies calculations because area scales directly with the square of wire diameter without needing π in computations. For example, doubling a wire's diameter increases its circular-mil area fourfold. This makes circular mils extremely convenient for determining ampacity, resistance, and voltage drop in electrical conductors. Even though SI units are common elsewhere, the circular mil remains entrenched in North American electrical codes.
Square Centimeter (cm²)
A square centimeter is the area of a square 1 cm per side. It is widely used in medicine, biology, and materials science because it provides a practical scale for human-sized and laboratory-sized areas. Dermatologists measure wound sizes in cm², biologists quantify cell culture plates in cm², and materials engineers specify surface treatments, coatings, and cross-sections using this unit. The cm² offers an intuitive middle ground between mm² (too small for many biological phenomena) and m² (too large for typical laboratory work), making it a universal unit in the sciences.