The CGS unit of magnetic flux density. A field of one gauss exerts, on a current-carrying conductor placed in the field, a force of 0.1 dyne per ampere of current per centimeter of conductor. One gauss represents a magnetic flux of one maxwell per square centimeter of cross-section perpendicular to the field. In SI units, one gauss equals 10-4 tesla. The unit is named for the German mathematician and astronomer Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855)