electron volt

[ ih-lek-tron-vohlt ]

nounPhysics.

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. Abbreviations: eV, ev

Origin of electron volt

First recorded in 1925–30

Also e·lec·tronvolt, electron-volt .

Words Nearby electron volt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use electron volt in a sentence

For comparison, the super-energetic protons in the largest particle accelerator on Earth — the Large Hadron Collider — only reach trillions of electron volts.
Light from space has record-breaking energy | Emily Conover | June 24, 2021 | Science News For Students
For comparison, protons in the largest accelerator on Earth, the Large Hadron Collider, reach mere trillions of electron volts.
Record-breaking light has more than a quadrillion electron volts of energy | Emily Conover | May 21, 2021 | Science News
A search for possible sources of the 38 highest-energy gamma rays, above 398 trillion electron volts, came up empty, supporting the idea that the gamma rays came from cosmic rays that had wandered about the galaxy.
The Milky Way’s newfound high-energy glow hints at the secrets of cosmic rays | Emily Conover | February 2, 2021 | Science News

British Dictionary definitions for electronvolt

electronvolt

/ (ɪˌlɛktrɒnˈvəʊlt) /

noun

a unit of energy equal to the work done on an electron accelerated through a potential difference of 1 volt. 1 electronvolt is equivalent to 1.602 × 10 –19 joule: Symbol: eV

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for electron volt

electron volt

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.

Browse