electron volt

American  

[ih-lek-tron-vohlt] / ɪˈlɛk trɒnˌvoʊlt /

Also electronvolt,

noun

Physics.

1. a unit of energy, equal to the energy acquired by an electron accelerating through a potential difference of one volt and equivalent to 1.602 × 10 −19 joules. eV, ev

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electron volt Scientific  

1. A unit used to measure the energy of subatomic particles. One electron volt is defined as the energy needed to move an electron (which has an electric charge equal to −1) across an electric potential of one volt.

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Etymology

Origin of electron volt

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

electron volt

"Maybe magnetic fields are stronger than we thought, but that disagrees with other observations that show they're not strong enough to produce significant curvature at these ten-to-the-twentieth electron volt energies," said Belz.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 23, 2023

These simple relationships between accelerating voltage and particle charges make the electron volt a simple and convenient energy unit in such circumstances.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

An electron volt is the amount of energy an electron would gain passing from the negative to the positive side of a one-volt battery.

From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2010

By comparison, burning wood or any other chemical reaction on an atom scale produces one electron volt.

From US News ● Mar. 31, 2010

This was the predicted appearance of the 13 billion electron volt particles from disintegrating silicon.

From Time Magazine Archive