Redirected from Electron-volt
An electronvolt (symbol: eV) is the amount of energy gained by a single unbound electron when it falls through an electrostatic potential difference of one volt. This is a very small amount of energy:
In particle physics, the megaelectronvolt (1 MeV = 106 eV) is also used to measure masses of elementary particles, using the conversion from special relativity
For comparison, charged particles in a nuclear explosion range from 0.3 to 3 MeV. The typical atmospheric molecule has an energy of about 0.03 eV.
To convert a particle's energy in electronvolts into its temperature in kelvin, multiply by 11,604. See also: Orders of magnitude
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