million electron volts

American  

noun

Physics.

1. a unit of energy equal to the energy acquired by an electron in falling through a potential of 10 6 volts. MeV, Mev, mev

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Etymology

Origin of million electron volts

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Two years ago, Safdi and his colleagues put the best upper limit on the mass of the QCD axion at about 16 million electron volts, or about 32 times less than the mass of the electron.

From Science Daily

Although that amount of energy is miniscule by everyday standards, the increase occurred as the electrons traveled only three one-hundredths of a millimeter—equivalent to them gaining about 30 million electron volts over the course of a meter.

From Scientific American

She estimates that 1,000 stages could fit on a chip a couple of centimeters in length and imbue electrons with a million electron volts’ worth of energy, allowing them to travel at about 94 percent of the speed of light.

From Scientific American

Radium emitted alpha particles at a meager 7.6 million electron volts and beta rays—that is, electrons—at only 3 million volts.

From Literature

Bethe had not been wrong about this obstacle, merely premature; but if the cyclotron were to move beyond 30 million electron volts, the issue had to be faced now.

From Literature