Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of ...

is defined via

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal t ...

, so the SI unit of energy is the same as the unit of work – the

joule The joule ( , ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton displaces a mass through a distance of 1 metre in the direction of the force appli ...

(J), named in honour of

James Prescott Joule James Prescott Joule (; 24 December 1818 11 October 1889) was an English physicist, mathematician and brewer, born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work (see energy). ...

and his experiments on the

mechanical equivalent of heat In the history of science, the mechanical equivalent of heat states that motion and heat are mutually interchangeable and that in every case, a given amount of work would generate the same amount of heat, provided the work done is totally conve ...

. In slightly more fundamental terms, is equal to 1

newton metre The newton-metre (also newton metre or newton meter; symbol N⋅m or N m) is the unit of torque (also called ) in the International System of Units (SI). One newton-metre is equal to the torque resulting from a force of one newton applie ...

and, in terms of

SI base unit The SI base units are the standard units of measurement defined by the International System of Units (SI) for the seven base quantities of what is now known as the International System of Quantities: they are notably a basic set from which al ...

s :

1\ \mathrm = 1\ \mathrm \left( \frac \right ) ^ 2 = 1\ \frac

An energy unit that is used in

atomic physics Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. Atomic physics typically refers to the study of atomic structure and the interaction between atoms. It is primarily concerned wit ...

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

and

high energy physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standa ...

is the

electronvolt In physics, an electronvolt (symbol eV, also written electron-volt and electron volt) is the measure of an amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron accelerating from rest through an electric potential difference of one volt in vacu ...

(eV). One eV is equivalent to . In

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter ...

the unit cm⁻¹ ≈ is used to represent energy since energy is inversely proportional to wavelength from the equation

E = h \nu = h c/\lambda

. In discussions of energy production and consumption, the units

barrel of oil equivalent The barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) is a unit of energy based on the approximate energy released by burning one barrel (, or ) of crude oil. The BOE is used by oil and gas companies in their financial statements as a way of combining oil and nat ...

and

ton of oil equivalent The tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is a unit of energy defined as the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of crude oil. It is approximately 42 gigajoules or 11.630 megawatt-hours, although as different crude oils have different calorifi ...

are often used.

British imperial / US customary units

The British imperial units and U.S. customary units for both energy and work include the

foot-pound force The foot-pound force (symbol: ft⋅lbf, ft⋅lbf, or ft⋅lb ) is a unit of work or energy in the engineering and gravitational systems in United States customary and imperial units of measure. It is the energy transferred upon applying a ...

(1.3558 J), the

British thermal unit The British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a unit of heat; it is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is also part of the United States customary units. The modern SI ...

(BTU) which has various values in the region of 1055 J, the

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

-hour (2.6845 MJ), and the

gasoline gallon equivalent Gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) or gasoline-equivalent gallon (GEG) is the amount of an alternative fuel it takes to equal the energy content of one liquid gallon of gasoline. GGE allows consumers to compare the energy content of competing fue ...

(about 120 MJ).

Electricity

A unit of electrical energy, particularly for utility bills, is the

kilowatt-hour A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common b ...

(kWh); one kilowatt-hour is equivalent to . Electricity usage is often given in units of kilowatt-hours per year or other time period. This is actually a measurement of average

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

consumption, meaning the average rate at which energy is transferred. One kilowatt-hour per year is about 0.11 watts.

Natural gas

Natural gas is often sold in units of energy content or by volume. Common units for selling by energy content are

s or

therm The therm (symbol, thm) is a non- SI unit of heat energy equal to 100,000 British thermal units (BTU), and approximately megajoules, kilowatt-hours, kilocalories and thermies. One therm is the energy content of approximately of natural gas a ...

s. One therm is equal to about . Common units for selling by volume are cubic metre or cubic feet. Natural gas in the US is sold in therms or 100 cubic feet (100 ft³ = 1 Ccf). In Australia, natural gas is sold in cubic metres. One cubic metre contains about 38 megajoules. In the most of the world, natural gas is sold in gigajoules.

Food industry

The

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of o ...

is defined as the amount of

thermal energy The term "thermal energy" is used loosely in various contexts in physics and engineering. It can refer to several different well-defined physical concepts. These include the internal energy or enthalpy of a body of matter and radiation; heat, d ...

necessary to raise the

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

of one

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...

of water by 1

Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The ...

degree, from a temperature of , at a

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

of . For thermochemistry a calorie of is used, but other calories have also been defined, such as the International Steam Table calorie of . In many regions,

food energy Food energy is chemical energy that animals (including humans) derive from their food to sustain their metabolism, including their muscle, muscular activity. Most animals derive most of their energy from aerobic respiration, namely combining the ...

is measured in large calories or kilocalories equalling , sometimes written capitalized as . In the European Union, food energy labeling in joules is mandatory, often with calories as supplementary information.

Atom physics and chemistry

In physics and chemistry, it is common to measure energy on the atomic scale in the non-SI, but convenient, units

s (eV). 1 eV is equivalent to the kinetic energy acquired by an electron in passing through a potential difference of 1 volt in a vacuum. It is common to use the SI magnitude prefixes (eg milli- , mega- etc) with electronvolts. Because of the relativistic equivalence between mass and energy, the eV is also sometimes used as a unit of mass. The

Hartree The hartree (symbol: ''E''h or Ha), also known as the Hartree energy, is the unit of energy in the Hartree atomic units system, named after the British physicist Douglas Hartree. Its CODATA recommended value is = The hartree energy is approximat ...

(the

atomic unit The Hartree atomic units are a system of natural units of measurement which is especially convenient for atomic physics and computational chemistry calculations. They are named after the physicist Douglas Hartree. By definition, the following ...

of energy) is commonly used in calculations. Historically Rydberg units have been used.

Spectroscopy

and related fields it is common to measure energy levels in units of reciprocal centimetres. These units (cm⁻¹) are strictly speaking not energy units but units proportional to energies, with

\ hc\sim 2\cdot 10^\ \mathrm\ \mathrm

being the proportionality constant.

Explosions

A gram of

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

releases upon explosion. To define the tonne of TNT, this was standardized to giving a value of for the tonne of TNT.

References

{{Energy footer Conversion of units of measurement