Joule's law

American  

noun

Physics.

1. the principle that the rate of production of heat by a constant direct current is directly proportional to the resistance of the circuit and to the square of the current.

2. the principle that the internal energy of a given mass of an ideal gas is solely a function of its temperature.

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Joule's law British  

noun

1. physics the principle that the heat produced by an electric current is equal to the product of the resistance of the conductor, the square of the current, and the time for which it flows

2. thermodynamics the principle that at constant temperature the internal energy of an ideal gas is independent of volume. Real gases change their internal energy with volume as a result of intermolecular forces

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Etymology

Origin of Joule's law

First recorded in 1850–55; named after J. P. Joule

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Joule's law

This relation is often known as Joule's law.

From Heroes of Science: Physicists by Garnett, William

There is elevation of temperature in the circuit in accordance with Joule's law; and this phenomenon, under such conditions, is incompatible with the principle of Carnot.

From The New Physics and Its Evolution by Poincaré, Lucien

Undulations have been measured and counted; quantitative relations, like those expressed in Joule's law, have been established between them; but an "ether" has never yet been the object of human ken.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 82, August, 1864 by Various