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

"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 represented the 17 billion electron volt debris of such heavy atoms as iron and chlorine.

From Time Magazine Archive