Joule - Practical Examples

Practical Examples

One joule in everyday life is approximately:

  • the energy required to lift a small apple one metre straight up. (A mass of about 102 g = 1⁄9.81 kg)
  • the energy released when that same apple falls one metre to the ground.
  • the energy delivered by a 1 watt solar panel every second.
  • the energy released as heat by a person at rest, every 1/60th of a second.
  • the kinetic energy of a 50 kg human moving very slowly (0.2 m/s).
  • the kinetic energy of a tennis ball moving at 23 km/h (14 mph).

Since the joule is also a Watt-second and the common unit for electricity sales to homes is the kWh (kilo-Watt-hour), a kWh is thus 1000 (kilo) x 3600 seconds = 3.6 MJ (Megajoules).

Read more about this topic:  Joule

Famous quotes containing the words practical and/or examples:

    “The three practical rules, then, which I have to offer, are,— 1. Never read any book that is not a year old. 2. Never read any but famed books. 3. Never read any but what you like.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “It is hardly to be believed how spiritual reflections when mixed with a little physics can hold people’s attention and give them a livelier idea of God than do the often ill-applied examples of his wrath.”
    —G.C. (Georg Christoph)