internal energy

American  

noun

Thermodynamics.

1. 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. U

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internal energy British  

noun

1.  U.   E.  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, etc

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Etymology

Origin of internal energy

First recorded in 1885–90

Compare meaning

How does internal-energy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• enthalpy vs. internal energy

Example Sentences

Liquid water combined with internal energy sources makes these moons compelling targets in the search for life.

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026

To avoid using a battery, they incorporate internal energy storage that can include a series of capacitors.

From Science Daily • Jan. 18, 2024

That's how radioactive metals like uranium and radium produce their own internal energy, without any external source.

From Salon • Aug. 12, 2023

It can’t; it has too much internal energy and direction for any single misstep, including Hansberry’s, to throw the whole thing off track.

From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2022

She was quietly wrecking herself without assistance from wind or wave, by the sheer internal energy of feline expansion.

From The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 Epigrams, On With the Dance, Negligible Tales by Bierce, Ambrose