What exactly is an ELECTRON VOLT as opposed to a VOLT?
Asked by: Joe Thomas
Answer
Electonvolt (symbol: eV) is a unit of ENERGY. One eV is equal to the amount of energy one electron acquires by accelerating (from
rest) through a potential difference of one volt. It is usually used as a measure of particle energies although it is not an SI
(System International) unit. The SI unit for energy is the JOULE. 1 eV = 1.602 x 10-19 joule.
Volt is the SI unit of ELECTRIC POTENTIAL, potential difference or e.m.f. (electro motive force) defined as the difference of
potential between two points on a conductor carrying a constant current of one ampere when the power dissipated between the points
is one watt. It is named after Alessandro Volta (1745-1827)
It may help to realize that the electric potential is a property associated with the field in the space (i.e. in-between the
capacitor plates conected to a battery), while the energy is associated with the particle you place into that field (and it
depends on the particle).
Answered by: Anton Skorucak, M.S. Physics, PhysLink.com Creator
'The strength and weakness of physicists is that we believe in what we can measure. And if we can't measure it, then we say it probably doesn't exist. And that closes us off to an enormous amount of phenomena that we may not be able to measure because they only happened once. For example, the Big Bang. ... That's one reason why they scoffed at higher dimensions for so many years. Now we realize that there's no alternative... '