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The joule (/ dʒ uː l / JOOL, or / dʒ aʊ l / JOWL; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). [1] In terms of SI base units, one joule corresponds to one kilogram-square metre per square second (1 J = 1 kg⋅m 2 ⋅s −2).
Energy is defined via work, so the SI unit of energy is the same as the unit of work – the joule (J), named in honour of James Prescott Joule [1] and his experiments on the mechanical equivalent of heat. In slightly more fundamental terms, 1 joule is equal to 1 newton metre and, in terms of SI base units
The term foot-pound is also used as a unit of torque (see pound-foot (torque)). In the United States this is often used to specify, for example, the tightness of a fastener (such as screws and nuts) or the output of an engine. Although they are dimensionally equivalent, energy (a scalar) and torque (a Euclidean vector) are
The centigrade heat unit (CHU) is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound (0.45 kg) of water by one Celsius degree. It is equal to 1.8 Btu or 1,899 joules. [26] In 1974, this unit was "still sometimes used" in the United Kingdom as an alternative to Btu. [27]
The joule is named after James Prescott Joule. As with every SI unit named for a person, its symbol starts with an upper case letter (J), but when written in full, it follows the rules for capitalisation of a common noun; i.e., joule becomes capitalised at the beginning of a sentence and in titles but is otherwise in lower case.
In some contexts, the term "pound" is used almost exclusively to refer to the unit of force and not the unit of mass. In those applications, the preferred unit of mass is the slug, i.e. lbf⋅s 2 /ft. In other contexts, the unit "pound" refers to a unit of mass. The international standard symbol for the pound as a unit of mass is lb. [8]
As the unit name suggests, it is the product of pounds for the unit of force and feet for the unit of displacement. One joule is approximately equal to 0.7376 ft-lbs. [16] [17] Non-SI units of work include the newton-metre, erg, the foot-pound, the foot-poundal, the kilowatt hour, the litre-atmosphere, and the horsepower-hour.
See Weight for detail of mass/weight distinction and conversion. Avoirdupois is a system of mass based on a pound of 16 ounces, while Troy weight is the system of mass where 12 troy ounces equals one troy pound. The symbol g 0 is used to denote standard gravity in order to avoid confusion with the (upright) g symbol for gram.