Is Proton Volt Equal to Electron Volt Despite Proton's Greater Mass?

[lamp post]

is proton volt = electron volt? if yes then why? even if proton is 1840 times massive then electron and eV Is work done in carrying an electron from one potentail difference to another when potentail differnece is 1 V.

 

[Chen]

1eV is a unit of energy. It is said that when an electron is accelerated by a potential difference of 1 volt, it acquires energy of 1eV. The work that is done against an electric field depends only on the field itself and the charge of the particle you are moving, the mass doesn't matter. Since the charges of an electron and a proton are equal, but different in sign, I don't see why |1pV| = |1eV| can't be true. (I use absolute values since the charge of the proton is positive whereas the charge of the electron is negative.)

 

[ZapperZ]

is proton volt = electron volt? if yes then why? even if proton is 1840 times massive then electron and eV Is work done in carrying an electron from one potentail difference to another when potentail differnece is 1 V.

You are correct. Since both electron and proton have the identical amount of charge (except for the sign), an electron and a proton in a 1 V potential will gain 1 eV of KINETIC ENERGY. And that's the key here. The proton will NOT gain the same velocity as the electron, but since it is more massive, it doesn't have to for it to have the identical kinetic energy as the electron.

Zz.

 

[chroot]

Think of the 'e' in eV as standing for the electronic charge, e, not the electron itself.

- Warren