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internal energy

noun Thermodynamics.

a function of thermodynamic variables, as temperature, that represents the internal state of a system that is due to the energies of the molecular constituents of the system. The change in internal energy during a process is equal to the net heat entering the system minus the net work done by the system. Symbol: U

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To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.
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Origin of internal energy

First recorded in 1885–90

Words nearby internal energy

internal conflict, internal conjugate, internal conversion, internal ear, internal elastic lamina, internal energy, internal exile, internal fistula, internal fixation, internal gear, internal hemorrhage
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for internal energy

internal energy

noun

the thermodynamic property of a system that changes by an amount equal to the work done on the system when it suffers an adiabatic change. It is the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of its constituent atoms, molecules, etcSymbol: U, E
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