Definitions for "Electron volt"
Keywords:  mev, kev, volt, gev, joule
Energy required to move an electron through a potential difference of 1 volt. An electron volt is equivalent to 1.6×10-19 J.
A unit of energy that is convenient to use on the atomic scale, equal to the amount of work required to move an electron, with its negative charge, through an electrical potential of one volt, 1.6 x 10-19 joules. Chemical reactions at the atomic scale involve energies of a few eV, for example, combining two molecules of hydrogen (H2) with a single molecule of oxygen (O2) to make two molecules of water (H2O) releases 5 eV. Nuclear reactions release much more energy. Fission of a uranium-235 nucleus by a neutron releases 200 MeV -- 200 million electron volts. The fusion of deuterium with tritium releases 17.9 MeV, which, because the mass of the deuterium and tritium are so small, is 500 times the energy released by fission, per kilogram of fuel, and 100-million times the energy released by burning coal.
the energy acquired by an electron as a result of moving through a potential difference of 1 volt