-4
$\begingroup$

My question is: Can an electron volt be considered an alternate unit for electric potential?

|cite|improve this question
$\endgroup$

closed as off-topic by Dilaton, twistor59, Waffle's Crazy Peanut, user1504, Manishearth Jul 12 '13 at 5:59

  • This question does not appear to be about physics within the scope defined in the help center.
If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

  • 6
    $\begingroup$ No, it is a unit of energy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronvolt $\endgroup$ – Michael Brown Jul 11 '13 at 1:18
  • $\begingroup$ @Michael that should be an answer $\endgroup$ – David Z♦ Jul 11 '13 at 3:40
  • $\begingroup$ @DavidZaslavsky An answer which is just a link? $\endgroup$ – Michael Brown Jul 11 '13 at 4:06
  • $\begingroup$ It's not just a link. Even without the link, you said the eV is a unit of energy, which answers the question. $\endgroup$ – David Z♦ Jul 11 '13 at 4:17
  • 6
    $\begingroup$ This question appears to be off-topic because it can be answered easily by means of an internet search $\endgroup$ – twistor59 Jul 11 '13 at 12:35
2
$\begingroup$

No. The electronvolt is a unit of energy.

It is defined as the energy gained/lost by an electron when it passes through a potential difference of 1 volt. Hence the name electronvolt. Its symbol is $eV$.

It is equal to about $1.6 × 10^{-19} J$.

It is used frequently while solving problems relating to tiny charges - like electrons and protons, etc. because it becomes easier to solve problems by calculating with numbers like $5eV$ rather than with $0.0000000000000000008J$ (which is the value of $5eV$ in joules).

Note that it is not an SI unit.

|cite|improve this answer
$\endgroup$
0
$\begingroup$

The SI unit of electric potential is a Volt, which is equivalent to a Joule per Coulomb. So for an electron-volt to be used in a unit for electric potential it will need to be divided by some unit for electric charge: $eV/C$ or something like that. I am not aware if such a unit exists in systems outside SI.

|cite|improve this answer
$\endgroup$
  • $\begingroup$ I am not aware if such a unit exists in systems outside SI. The cgs unit is the statvolt. $\endgroup$ – Ben Crowell Jul 11 '13 at 4:32

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.