electron volt
noun
: a unit of energy equal to the energy gained by an electron in passing from a point of low potential to a point one volt higher in potential : 1.60 × 10−19 joule
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Cosmic rays can reach our planet with speeds driven by over a peta-electron volt, or PeV, of energy. 
WIRED, 28 Aug. 2022 Observations of nearby galaxies and the center of our own Milky Way revealed a faint glow of x-rays with a specific energy, 3.5 kilo-electron volts (keV). Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, 26 Mar. 2020 As long as the production was reasonably inefficient, and the mass was about 17MeV (million electron volts), then the data was beautifully explained. Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 20 Dec. 2019 The lower bound is 0.02 eV (electron volts); neutrinos can't have a lower mass than that. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 Sep. 2019 Using plasma waves, the BELLA team was able to generate electron beams with energies up to 7.8 billion electron volts (GeV) in an 8-inch-long plasma. David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 21 Oct. 2019 But at less than 1 electron volt, the putative MiniBooNE sterile neutrino lacks the heft for these other purposes. Quanta Magazine, 1 June 2018 This slow-moving X boson, which has a mass of 16.7 million electron volts (MeV), splits into an electron-positron pair. Quanta Magazine, 7 June 2016 Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays surpass 1 exa-electron volt (EeV). Quanta Magazine, 14 May 2015 See More
WIRED, 28 Aug. 2022 Observations of nearby galaxies and the center of our own Milky Way revealed a faint glow of x-rays with a specific energy, 3.5 kilo-electron volts (keV). Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, 26 Mar. 2020 As long as the production was reasonably inefficient, and the mass was about 17MeV (million electron volts), then the data was beautifully explained. Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 20 Dec. 2019 The lower bound is 0.02 eV (electron volts); neutrinos can't have a lower mass than that. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 Sep. 2019 Using plasma waves, the BELLA team was able to generate electron beams with energies up to 7.8 billion electron volts (GeV) in an 8-inch-long plasma. David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 21 Oct. 2019 But at less than 1 electron volt, the putative MiniBooNE sterile neutrino lacks the heft for these other purposes. Quanta Magazine, 1 June 2018 This slow-moving X boson, which has a mass of 16.7 million electron volts (MeV), splits into an electron-positron pair. Quanta Magazine, 7 June 2016 Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays surpass 1 exa-electron volt (EeV). Quanta Magazine, 14 May 2015 See More Word History
First Known Use
1930, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
electron volt
noun
: a unit of energy equal to the energy gained by an electron in passing from a point of low potential to a point one volt higher in potential : 1.60 × 10−19 joule