How much Energy exacltly is an MeV?

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In summary: This may not seem like a lot, but for particles with such a small mass, it represents a significant amount of energy.In summary, 1 MeV is equivalent to 106 electron volts or 1.6 x 10-13 joules. While this may not seem like a lot, for elementary particles it represents a significant amount of energy. For comparison, a one pound object falling one foot would gain about 1.4 joules of energy. The speed at which an electron would be moving if it had 1 MeV of energy is approximately 0.87 times the speed of light. This means that the electron would be moving at a very high speed, which is significant for particles with such a small mass. Additionally
  • #1
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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  • #3
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.
 
  • #4
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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  • #5
I believe 1 megaton is on the order of 1015 joules
 
  • #6
Bob_for_short said:
For electron velocity it means v ≈ 0.87*c.

Explain this for me please!
 
  • #7
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?
 
  • #8
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.
 

1. What is an MeV?

An MeV, or megaelectronvolt, is a unit of energy commonly used in particle physics and nuclear physics. It is equal to one million electron volts.

2. How is an MeV measured?

An MeV is typically measured using an instrument called a particle accelerator. This device accelerates particles to high energies, and the amount of energy they gain is measured in MeV.

3. How much energy is equivalent to an MeV?

One MeV is equivalent to approximately 1.602 x 10^-13 joules of energy. This is a very small amount of energy, but it is important in the study of subatomic particles.

4. How is an MeV used in scientific research?

An MeV is used to measure the energy of subatomic particles, such as protons and neutrons. It is also used in nuclear reactions, such as those that occur in the sun, and in medical imaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET) scans.

5. How does an MeV compare to other units of energy?

An MeV is a relatively small unit of energy compared to other units commonly used in everyday life. For example, one MeV is equivalent to about 0.000000000000000000001 kilojoules. However, in the context of subatomic particles and nuclear reactions, an MeV is a significant amount of energy.

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