Units of energy
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Because energy is defined via work the SI unit for energy is the same as the unit of work – the joule (J), named in honour of James Prescott Joule and his experiments on the mechanical equivalent of heat. In slightly more fundamental terms, 1 joule is equal to 1 newton-metre and, in terms of SI base units:
An energy unit that is used in atomic physics, particle physics and high energy physics is the electronvolt (eV). One eV is equivalent to 1.60217653×10−19 J. In spectroscopy the unit cm-1 = 0.0001239 eV is used to represent energy since energy is inversely proportional to wavelength from the equation E = hν = hc / λ.
In discussions of energy production and consumption, the units barrel of oil equivalent and ton of oil equivalent are often used.
When discussing amounts of energy released in explosions or bolide impact events, the TNT equivalent unit is often used. 1 ton of TNT equivalent is equal to 4.2 × 109 joules. Therefore, 1 kT TNT is 4.2 × 1012 joules, and 1 MT TNT is 4.2 × 1015 joules.
(Note that torque, which is typically expressed in newton-metres, has the same dimension and this is not a simple coincidence: a torque of 1 newton-metre applied on 1 radian requires exactly 1 newton-metre = 1 joule of energy.)
[edit] Other units of energy
In cgs units, one erg is 1 g cm2 s−2, equal to 1.0×10−7 J.
The imperial/U.S. units for both energy and work include the foot-pound force (1.3558 J), the British thermal unit (Btu) which has various values in the region of 1055 J, and the horsepower-hour (2.6845 MJ).
The energy unit used for everyday electricity, particularly for utility bills, is the kilowatt-hour (kW h), and one kW h is equivalent to 3.6×106 J (3600 kJ or 3.6 MJ).
The calorie equals the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water by 1 Celsius degree, at a pressure of 1 atm. For thermochemistry a calorie of 4.184 J is used, but other calories have also been defined, such as the International Steam Table calorie of 4.1868 J. Food energy is measured in large calories or kilocalories, sometimes capitalized as "Calories" (= 103 small calories).
