In Physics, What Is the Electron Volt?
Electron volt, symbolized as eV, is a unit of energy. Represents the kinetic energy obtained by an electron (a negative charge with a charge of 1.6 × 10 -19 C) accelerated by a potential difference of 1 volt.
Electron volt
- For example, an electron and a positron (antiparticles of an electron) both have an energy of 511 keV and can be destroyed by collision to produce an energy of 1.022 MeV. Proton, a standard baryon, has an energy of 0.938 GeV.
- 1 eV / c 2 = 1.783 × 10 -36 kg
- 1 keV / c 2 = 1.783 × 10 -33 kg
- 1 MeV / c 2 = 1.783 × 10 -30 kg
- 1 GeV / c 2 = 1.783 × 10 -27 kg
- For comparison, the energy range of charged particles in a nuclear explosion is about 0.3 to 3 MeV. The energy of the molecules in the atmosphere is about 0.03 eV.
- To convert the energy of a particle from electron volts to Kelvin, multiply by 11604.505 (20) (see Boltzmann constant).