This article is about the unit of energy. For other uses, see Joule (disambiguation).
| Joule |
| Unit system |
SI derived unit |
| Unit of |
Energy |
| Symbol |
J |
| Named after |
James Prescott Joule |
| Unit conversions |
| 1 J in ... |
... is equal to ... |
| SI base units |
1 kg·m2/s2 |
| CGS units |
7007100000000000000♠1×107 erg |
| kilowatt hours |
7000100089999999999♠2.78×10−7 kW·h |
| kilocalories |
6999999976000000000♠2.39×10−4 kcal |
| BTUs |
7000100019294828379♠9.48×10−4 BTU |
| electronvolts |
6999999758127888000♠6.24×1018 eV |
The joule (// or sometimes //), symbol J, is a derived unit of energy, work, or amount of heat in the International System of Units.[1] It is equal to the energy transferred (or work done) when applying a force of one newton through a distance of one metre (1 newton metre or N·m), or in passing an electric current of one ampere through a resistance of one ohm for one second. It is named after the English physicist James Prescott Joule (1818–1889).[2][3][4]
In terms firstly of base SI units and then in terms of other SI units:
where kg is the kilogram, m is the metre, s is the second, N is the newton, Pa is the pascal, W is the watt, C is the coulomb, and V is the volt.
One joule can also be defined as:
- The work required to move an electric charge of one coulomb through an electrical potential difference of one volt, or one '"coulomb volt" (C·V). This relationship can be used to define the volt.
- The work required to produce one watt of power for one second, or one "watt second" (W·s) (compare kilowatt hour - 3.6 megajoules). This relationship can be used to define the watt.
Contents
- 1 Usage
- 2 Confusion with newton-metre
- 3 Practical examples
- 4 Multiples
- 4.1 Zeptojoule
- 4.2 Nanojoule
- 4.3 Microjoule
- 4.4 Millijoule
- 4.5 Kilojoule
- 4.6 Megajoule
- 4.7 Gigajoule
- 4.8 Terajoule
- 4.9 Petajoule
- 4.10 Exajoule
- 4.11 Zettajoule
- 4.12 Yottajoule
- 5 Conversions
- 6 See also
- 7 Notes and references
Usage
This SI unit is named after James Prescott Joule. As with every International System of Units (SI) unit whose name is derived from the proper name of a person, the first letter of its symbol is upper case (J). However, when an SI unit is spelled out in English, it should always begin with a lower case letter (joule), except in a situation where any word in that position would be capitalized, such as at the beginning of a sentence or in material using title case. Note that "degree Celsius" conforms to this rule because the "d" is lowercase.— Based on The International System of Units, section 5.2.
Confusion with newton-metre
Main article: newton metre
In angular mechanics, torque is analogous to the linear Newtonian mechanics parameter of force, moment of inertia to mass, and angle to distance. Energy is the same in both systems. Thus, although the joule has the same dimensions as the newton-metre (1 J = 1 N·m = 1 kg·m2·s−2), these units are not interchangeable: the CGPM has given the unit of energy the name "joule", but has not given the unit of torque any special name, hence the unit of torque is known as the newton-metre (N·m) - a compound name derived from its constituent parts.[5] Torque and energy are related to each other using the equation
where E is the energy, τ is the torque, and θ is the angle moved (in radians). Since radians are dimensionless, it follows that torque and energy have the same dimensions.
The use of newton-metres for torque and joules for energy is useful in helping avoid misunderstandings and miscommunications.[5]
An additional solution is to realize that joules are scalars – they are the dot product of a vector force and a vector displacement whereas torque is a vector. Torque is the cross product of a distance vector and a force vector. Drawing a traditional vector arrow over "newton-metre" in a torque resolves the ambiguity.
Practical examples
One joule in everyday life represents approximately:
- the energy required to lift a small apple (with a mass of approximately 100 g) vertically through one metre of air.
- the energy released when that same apple falls one metre to the ground.
- the energy required to accelerate a 1 kg mass at 1 m·s−2 through a 1 m distance in space.
- the heat required to raise the temperature of 1 g of water by 0.24 K.[6]
- the typical energy released as heat by a person at rest every 1/60 second (approximately 17 ms).[7]
- the kinetic energy of a 50 kg human moving very slowly (0.2 m/s or 0.72 km/h).
- the kinetic energy of a 56 g tennis ball moving at 6 m/s (22 km/h).[8]
- the kinetic energy of an object with mass 1 kg moving at √2 ≈ 1.4 m/s.
- The amount of electricity required to light a 1 watt LED for 1 s.
Since the joule is also a watt-second and the common unit for electricity sales to homes is the kW·h (kilowatt-hour), a kW·h is thus 1000 (kilo) watt × 3600 seconds = 3.6 MJ (megajoules).
Multiples
- For additional examples, see: Orders of magnitude (energy)
SI multiples for joule (J)
| Submultiples |
|
Multiples |
| Value |
Symbol |
Name |
Value |
Symbol |
Name |
| 10−1 J |
dJ |
decijoule |
101 J |
daJ |
decajoule |
| 10−2 J |
cJ |
centijoule |
102 J |
hJ |
hectojoule |
| 10−3 J |
mJ |
millijoule |
103 J |
kJ |
kilojoule |
| 10−6 J |
µJ |
microjoule |
106 J |
MJ |
megajoule |
| 10−9 J |
nJ |
nanojoule |
109 J |
GJ |
gigajoule |
| 10−12 J |
pJ |
picojoule |
1012 J |
TJ |
terajoule |
| 10−15 J |
fJ |
femtojoule |
1015 J |
PJ |
petajoule |
| 10−18 J |
aJ |
attojoule |
1018 J |
EJ |
exajoule |
| 10−21 J |
zJ |
zeptojoule |
1021 J |
ZJ |
zettajoule |
| 10−24 J |
yJ |
yoctojoule |
1024 J |
YJ |
yottajoule |
| Common multiples are in bold face |
|
Zeptojoule
The zeptojoule (zJ) is equal to one sextillionth (10−21) of one joule. 160 zeptojoules is equivalent to one electronvolt.
Nanojoule
The nanojoule (nJ) is equal to one billionth (10−9) of one joule. One nanojoule is about 1/160 of the kinetic energy of a flying mosquito.[9]
Microjoule
The microjoule (μJ) is equal to one millionth (10−6) of one joule. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is expected to produce collisions on the order of 1 microjoule (7 TeV) per particle.
Millijoule
The millijoule (mJ) is equal to one thousandth (10−3) of a joule.
Kilojoule
The kilojoule (kJ) is equal to one thousand (103) joules. Nutritional food labels in certain countries express energy in kilojoules (kJ).
One kilojoule per second (1 kilowatt) is approximately the amount of solar radiation received by one square metre of the Earth in full daylight.[10]
Megajoule
The megajoule (MJ) is equal to one million (106) joules, or approximately the kinetic energy of a one megagram (tonne) vehicle moving at 160 km/h.
One kilowatt-hour is 3.6 megajoules: since 1 watt times 1 second equals 1 joule, 1000 watts times 3600 seconds equal 3.6 MJ.
Gigajoule
The gigajoule (GJ) is equal to one billion (109) joules. 6 GJ is about the amount of potential chemical energy in 160 L (approximately one US standard barrel) of oil, when combusted.[11]
Terajoule
The terajoule (TJ) is equal to one trillion (1012) joules. About 63 TJ of energy was released by the atomic bomb that exploded over Hiroshima.[12] The International Space Station, with a mass of approximately 450 megagrams and orbital velocity of 7.7 km/s,[13] has a kinetic energy of roughly 13 TJ.
Petajoule
The petajoule (PJ) is equal to one quadrillion (1015) joules. 210 PJ is equivalent to about 50 megatons of TNT. This is the amount of energy released by the Tsar Bomba, the largest man-made nuclear explosion ever.
Exajoule
The exajoule (EJ) is equal to one quintillion (1018) joules. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan had 1.41 EJ of energy according to its 9.0 on the moment magnitude scale. Energy in the United States used per year is roughly 94 EJ.
Zettajoule
The zettajoule (ZJ) is equal to one sextillion (1021) joules. Annual global energy consumption is approximately 0.5 ZJ.
Yottajoule
The yottajoule (YJ) is equal to one septillion (1024) joules. This is approximately the amount of energy required to heat the entire volume of water on Earth by 1 °C. The thermal output of the Sun is approximately 400 YJ per second.
Conversions
Main article: Conversion of units of energy
1 joule is equal to:
- 7007100000000000000♠1×107 erg]]s (exactly)
- 7000100000001488090♠6.24150974×1018 eV (electronvolts)
- 6999999976000000000♠0.2390 cal (thermochemical gram calories or small calories)
- 7000100001783900000♠2.3901×10−4 kcal (thermochemical kilocalories, kilogram calories, large calories or food calories)
- 7000100000303823030♠9.4782×10−4 BTU (British thermal unit)
- 6999737600000000000♠0.7376 ft·lb (foot-pounds)
- 6999998720609223170♠23.7 ft·pdl (foot-poundals)
- 6993277780000000000♠2.7778×10−7 kilowatt-hour
- 6996277780000000000♠2.7778×10−4 watt-hour
- 6997986920000000000♠9.8692×10−3 litre
- 7001111265000000000♠11.1265 femtogram]]s (mass-energy equivalence)
- 6956100000000099999♠1×10−44 foe (exactly)
Units defined exactly in terms of the joule include:
- 1 thermochemical calorie = 4.184 J[14]
- 1 International Table calorie = 4.1868 J[15]
- 1 watt hour = 3600 J (or 3.6 kJ)
- 1 kilowatt hour = 7006360000000000000♠3.6×106 J (or 3.6 MJ)
- 1 watt second = 7000100000000000000♠1 J
- 1 ton TNT = 4.184 GJ
See also
- Conversion of units of energy
- Orders of magnitude (energy)
- Fluence
- International System of Units
Notes and references
- ^ International Bureau of Weights and Measures (2006), The International System of Units (SI) (PDF) (8th ed.), p. 120, ISBN 92-822-2213-6
- ^ American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Online Edition (2009). Houghton Mifflin Co., hosted by Yahoo! Education.
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition (1985). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., p. 691.
- ^ McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Physics, Fifth Edition (1997). McGraw-Hill, Inc., p. 224.
- ^ a b "Units with special names and symbols; units that incorporate special names and symbols". International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
A derived unit can often be expressed in different ways by combining base units with derived units having special names. Joule, for example, may formally be written newton metre, or kilogram metre squared per second squared. This, however, is an algebraic freedom to be governed by common sense physical considerations; in a given situation some forms may be more helpful than others. In practice, with certain quantities, preference is given to the use of certain special unit names, or combinations of unit names, to facilitate the distinction between different quantities having the same dimension.
- ^ "Units of Heat - BTU, Calorie and Joule". Engineeringtoolbox.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
- ^ This is called the basal metabolic rate. It corresponds to about 5,000 kJ (1,200 kcal) per day. The kilocalorie (symbol kcal) is also known as the dietary calorie. "At rest" means awake but inactive.
- ^ Ristinen, Robert A.; Kraushaar, Jack J. (2006). Energy and the Environment (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-73989-8.
- ^ CERN - Glossary
- ^ "Construction of a Composite Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) Time Series from 1978 to present". Retrieved 2005-10-05.
- ^ IRS publication
- ^ Malik, John (September 1985). "Report LA-8819: The yields of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear explosions" (PDF). Los Alamos National Laboratory. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "International Space Station Final Configuration" (PDF). European Space Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ The adoption of joules as units of energy, FAO/WHO Ad Hoc Committee of Experts on Energy and Protein, 1971. A report on the changeover from calories to joules in nutrition.
- ^ Feynman, Richard (1963). "Physical Units". Feynman's Lectures on Physics. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
|
SI units
|
|
| Base units |
- ampere
- candela
- kelvin
- kilogram
- metre
- mole
- second
|
|
|
| Derived units with special names |
- becquerel
- coulomb
- degree Celsius
- farad
- gray
- henry
- hertz
- joule
- katal
- lumen
- lux
- newton
- ohm
- pascal
- radian
- siemens
- sievert
- steradian
- tesla
- volt
- watt
- weber
|
|
| Other accepted units |
- astronomical unit
- dalton
- day
- decibel
- degree Celsius
- degree of arc
- electronvolt
- hectare
- hour
- litre
- minute
- minute of arc
- neper
- second of arc
- tonne
- atomic units
- natural units
|
|
| See also |
- Conversion of units
- History of the metric system
- Metric prefixes
- Proposed redefinitions
- Systems of measurement
|
|
|
|
|
|
Energy
|
|
| Fundamental concepts |
- Energetics
- Energy
- Laws of thermodynamics
- Mass
- Power
- Energy transformation
|
|
| Primary energy |
- Chemical energy
- Fossil fuel
- Coal
- Petroleum
- Natural gas
- Gravitational energy
- Kinetic energy
- Nuclear fuel
- Magnetic energy
- Radiant energy
- Solar
- Thermal energy
- Wind
- Bioenergy
- Hydropower
- Marine energy
- Geothermal
|
|
| Energy carriers |
- Fuel oil
- Enthalpy
- Heat
- Work
- Electricity
- Elastic energy
|
|
| Energy systems |
- Oil refinery
- Fossil-fuel power station
- Cogeneration
- Integrated gasification combined cycle
- Nuclear power
- Nuclear power plant
- Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
- Solar power
- Photovoltaic system
- Concentrated solar power
- Solar thermal energy
- Solar power tower
- Solar furnace
- Wind power
- Wind farm
- High-altitude wind power
- Hydropower
- Hydroelectricity
- Wave farm
- Tidal power
- Biomass
- Geothermal electricity
|
|
