Units of energy

Because energy is defined via work, the SI unit for energy is the same as the unit of work – the joule (J), named in honor of James Prescott Joule and his experiments on the mechanical equivalent of heat. In slightly more fundamental terms, 1 joule is equal to 1 newton metre and, in terms of SI base units Because energy is defined via work, the SI unit for energy is the same as the unit of work – the joule (J), named in honor of James Prescott Joule and his experiments on the mechanical equivalent of heat. In slightly more fundamental terms, 1 joule is equal to 1 newton metre and, in terms of SI base units An energy unit that is used in atomic physics, particle physics and high energy physics is the electronvolt (eV). One eV is equivalent to 1.60217653×10−19 J. In spectroscopy the unit cm−1 = 0.000123986 eV is used to represent energy since energy is inversely proportional to wavelength from the equation E = h ν = h c / λ {displaystyle E=h u =hc/lambda } . In discussions of energy production and consumption, the units barrel of oil equivalent and ton of oil equivalent are often used. Cubic mile of oil is sometimes used as a unit of energy in discussions of global scale energy economics. When discussing amounts of energy released in explosions or bolide impact events, the TNT equivalent unit is often used. The joule is the most used unit of energy. The British Imperial units and U.S. Customary units for both energy and work include the foot-pound force (1.3558 J), the British thermal unit (BTU) which has various values in the region of 1055 J, the horsepower-hour (2.6845 MJ), and the gasoline gallon equivalent (about 120 MJ). The energy unit used for everyday electricity, particularly for utility bills, is the kilowatt-hour (kWh); one kWh is equivalent to 3.6×106 J  (3600 kJ or 3.6 MJ). Electricity usage is often given in units of kilowatt-hours per year (kWh/yr). This is actually a measurement of average power consumption, i.e., the average rate at which energy is transferred. One kWh/yr is about 0.11 watts. Natural gas in the US is sold in Therms or 100 cubic feet (100 ft3 = 1 Ccf). One Therm is equal to about 105.5 megajoules. In Australia, natural gas is sold in Cubic Meters (1m3 = 38megajoules). In the most of the world, natural gas is sold in gigajoules. The calorie equals the amount of thermal energy necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water by 1 Celsius degree, from a temperature of 14.5 degrees Celsius, at a pressure of 1 atm. For thermochemistry a calorie of 4.184 J is used, but other calories have also been defined, such as the International Steam Table calorie of 4.1868 J. Food energy is measured in large calories or kilocalories, often simply written capitalized as 'Calories' (= 103 calories).