How much Energy exacltly is an MeV?

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SUMMARY

1 MeV (mega-electron volt) equates to 1.6 x 10-13 Joules, a relatively small amount of energy, particularly when considering the scale of elementary particles. For context, a one-pound object falling one foot gains approximately 1.4 Joules of energy. Additionally, an electron with 1 MeV of kinetic energy moves at roughly 0.94 times the speed of light (c). The discussion also touches on the energy released by a one megaton nuclear weapon, estimated at around 1015 Joules.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of electron volts (eV) and their conversion to Joules
  • Basic knowledge of kinetic energy and its relation to mass and velocity
  • Familiarity with the concept of relativistic speeds, particularly as a fraction of the speed of light
  • Awareness of nuclear energy concepts, including fusion reactions
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  • Research the relationship between energy units, specifically converting MeV to Joules
  • Learn about relativistic physics and how velocity affects energy calculations
  • Investigate the energy output of nuclear reactions, particularly Deuterium fusion
  • Explore the implications of energy release in nuclear weapons, focusing on megaton yields
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Students and professionals in physics, nuclear engineering, and anyone interested in the energy scales of subatomic particles and nuclear reactions.

EinsteinII
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Hi Readers,

Can anybody just tell me how much energy really 1MeV will be? Curious to know because seen a lot of powerful things like cars, tools, heavy machinery, jet engines, laser cutters and i have an idea of their power in terms of respective units. Wondering how much energy will 1MeV really carry? Please make me understand in simple way!
 
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1 MeV = 106 eV = 1.6 x 10-13 Joules. Not so much, but then again, elementary particles are rather small. :wink: See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_volt"

For comparision: If a one pound object falls about one foot, it would gain about 1.4 Joules of energy.
 
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EinsteinII said:
Hi Readers,

Can anybody just tell me how much energy really 1MeV will be? Curious to know because seen a lot of powerful things like cars, tools, heavy machinery, jet engines, laser cutters and i have an idea of their power in terms of respective units. Wondering how much energy will 1MeV really carry? Please make me understand in simple way!

For electron velocity it means v ≈ 0.87*c.
 
Doc Al said:
1 MeV = 106 eV = 1.6 x 10-13 Joules. Not so much, but then again, elementary particles are rather small.

Thank you very much for that explanation! I wonder how much energy is released when One MT nuclear weapon is detonated!
 
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I believe 1 megaton is on the order of 1015 joules
 
Bob_for_short said:
For electron velocity it means v ≈ 0.87*c.

Explain this for me please!
 
Two interesting rods here are:

- how many GeVs is one unit of atomic mass?
- how many MeVs do you get from the fusion Deuterium->Helium?
 
Bob_for_short said:
For electron velocity it means v ≈ 0.87*c.
EinsteinII said:
Explain this for me please!
He means that if an electron had a total energy of 1 MeV, it would be moving at that speed. The speed is expressed as a fraction of c, the speed of light, which acts as a "speed limit" for all massive particles.

If an electron at rest (which already has some energy due to its mass) were to be given an additional 1 MeV of kinetic energy, it would end up moving at about 0.94*c.
 

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