What is the Relation Between Electron Volt and Joule?
Before starting with the conversion of electron volt to joule, let us first understand what these units are and when they are used. An electron volt is a unit used to describe the amount of energy gained by an electron when it is being accelerated under a potential difference of 1 volt. When an electron, at rest, is moved through a potential difference of 1V, whatever energy is gained by it is termed as 1 eV.
eV is the short form of electron-volt. It is a unit of energy. Particularly, this symbol is used in high-energy physics.
eV has many forms, such as KeV, MeV, GeV, or TeV. Also, joule is the energy of work. It is a derived form of energy. In this article, you will learn how to convert electron-volt into joule and vice versa.
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Conversion of eV to Joule
Have you ever wondered about the relationship between joule and eV? Both joule and eV are units of energy. However, they are found in two different systems.
Scientists have predicted their relation in a mathematical form. Do you know, 1eV is equal to how many joules?
1 eV to J can be written as:
1eV = 1.602 × 10-19 J
In the above expression, eV = electron volt and J = joule
How Do You Explain the Unit ‘Joule’?
1 unit joule is the amount of work done or transfers of energy on an object with a force of 1 newton that acts on the object in the identical direction of its motion along 1 metre of distance.
The formula for 1 J = 6.2415 × 1018 eV
The conversion of eV to joule is very significant. The values can be used to solve multiple problems in Physics. The table given below will show the conversion values of eV to joule:
Conversion of Joules to Electron-Volt
The above table shows you the eV to joule conversion. Now, it is time to reveal the conversion of joules to eV. The table given below will show you some values which are the conversion of joules in eV:
Application of eV and Joule
electron-volt to joule conversion is also important for solving different types of problems in physics. The values given in the table are very useful for easier calculation. You need to understand the concept and memorise the conversion values for better results. Both are commonly used as units of energy.
The implementation of eV is everywhere, such as the atomic state, solid-state, nuclear physics and Particle physics.
The value of 1eV is validated again under the redefinition of SI base units in 2019. Also, eV is used with different metric prefixes, such as mega-, kilo-, giga-, tera-, peta-, and exa-.
Also, the SI unit for energy is joule. Both are different but can be related to each other. volt and electron volt are two different units. eV is symbolised for energy whereas volt is the resultant SI unit from electric potential.
Conclusion
In this article, you got to know the relation between eV And joule in detail, along with their applications in the modern world of Physics.
FAQs on Relation Between eV and Joule
1. What exactly is an electron-volt (eV)?
An electron-volt is a unit of energy. It is defined as the amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron when it is accelerated through an electric potential difference of one volt in a vacuum. It's a very small unit of energy, which makes it useful for describing energy on atomic and subatomic scales.
2. What is the direct relationship between an electron-volt (eV) and a joule (J)?
The relationship is a direct conversion factor based on the elementary charge of an electron. One electron-volt is equal to approximately 1.602 x 10⁻¹⁹ joules. The joule is the standard SI unit of energy, while the electron-volt is a specialised unit used for convenience in physics.
3. How can you convert a value from electron-volts (eV) to joules (J)?
To convert from electron-volts to joules, you simply multiply the eV value by the charge of an electron (approximately 1.602 x 10⁻¹⁹). For example, an energy of 2 eV is equal to 2 × (1.602 × 10⁻¹⁹), which is 3.204 × 10⁻¹⁹ J.
4. How do you perform the reverse conversion from joules (J) to electron-volts (eV)?
To convert from joules to electron-volts, you do the opposite operation: you divide the joule value by the charge of an electron (approximately 1.602 x 10⁻¹⁹). This is useful when you have a standard energy value and want to understand what it means on an atomic scale.
5. In which areas of science are electron-volts used most often?
The electron-volt is a standard unit of energy in several advanced fields of physics because the energies involved are very small. Its main uses are in:
- Atomic Physics: Describing electron energy levels and ionisation energies.
- Nuclear Physics: Measuring nuclear binding energies and particle decay energies.
- Particle Physics: Expressing the mass of subatomic particles and accelerator energies.
- Solid-State Physics: Defining energy band gaps in semiconductors.
6. Why do physicists prefer using eV instead of joules for atomic and nuclear physics?
Physicists prefer using eV at the atomic scale for convenience. Expressing the tiny energies of electrons and photons in joules results in very small numbers with large negative powers of ten (like 10⁻¹⁹ J). Using electron-volts provides more manageable and intuitive numbers. For instance, it's simpler to state the ionisation energy of hydrogen is 13.6 eV than to say it is 2.18 x 10⁻¹⁸ J.
7. Is an electron-volt a unit of energy or a unit of electric potential?
This is a common point of confusion. An electron-volt (eV) is strictly a unit of energy, just like the joule. It should not be confused with the volt (V), which is the unit of electric potential difference. The name itself explains the relationship: it's the energy an electron gains when moving through one volt of potential.
8. How is the kinetic energy gained by an electron related to the electron-volt?
The definition of the electron-volt is directly based on kinetic energy. When a charged particle like an electron is accelerated by an electric field, it gains kinetic energy. The work done on the electron equals the kinetic energy (KE) it gains. For one electron moving through a potential difference of one volt, the kinetic energy it gains is defined as 1 eV.
