What is a specific energy?

For scientists or engineer, the term energy is the potential of the system to work or produce heat. Specific energy is the amount of energy per unit of weight. Concentration with matter is measurement of the amount per unit of weight. Specific energy can be considered as a concentration of energy per unit of weight. It is derived from the formula for kinetic energy: Ek = ½ mv2, where m is equal to the weight of the object in motion and equals its speed. Joule is the energy needed to speed up one kilogram at one meter per second to the other over the distance of one meter. Specific energy is expressed in units as joules on gram (j/g), kilojouls per kilogram (kj/kg) or joules per kilogram (j/kg), depending on the studied system. A gram of water by 1 ° C. The definition of calories is now 1 calorie equals 4.184 joules. Specific energy would be measured as calories/gram (cal/g), kilocalorie/kg (kcal/kg) or kilocalories on gram (kcal/g).

The British heat unit (BTU) is an analog to calorie and is inaccurate measurement. BTU is the energy needed to increase the temperature of one pound of water by 1 ° F. BTU is slightly less energy than 1 kilojoule. Specific energy in this system is measured as BTU on a pound (BTU/LB).

light, another form of energy, has no matter. Therefore, there is no term for specific light energy. When discussing chemical energy, it is often more useful to deal with specific energy on a molecular basis instead of a mass base. Chemist May use Jouly to Mole (J/Mol) instead of jouls per kilogram, because it is the number of molecules that react that are useful in this application.