Gigaelectronvolts to Kilojoules (GeV to kJ)

1 gigaelectronvolt equals 1.602176634×10⁻¹³ kilojoules exactly.

1 gigaelectronvolt = 1.602176634×10⁻¹³ kilojoules

How to convert gigaelectronvolts to kilojoules

To convert gigaelectronvolts to kilojoules, multiply the number of gigaelectronvolts by 1.602176634×10⁻¹³. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply kilojoules by 6,241,509,074,461 (rounded).

kilojoules = gigaelectronvolts × 1.602176634×10⁻¹³

Example: 10 gigaelectronvolts = 1.602176634×10⁻¹² kilojoules.

The 'calorie' on food labels is really a kilocalorie. The thermochemical calorie (4.184 J) is used here unless marked IT.

About these units

Gigaelectronvolt (GeV)

ScientificCurrent unit

One billion electronvolts. The scale of particle accelerators; the proton mass is about 0.938 GeV/c².

Accelerators brought this unit into use. Older documents wrote BeV for billion electronvolts, and the Bevatron at Berkeley, which began operating in 1954 and reached a maximum of 13 GeV, took its name from the idea. Creating antiprotons there needed a proton beam of about 6.2 GeV, and the antiproton was found in 1955. The modern symbol GeV equals 1.602176634 x 10^-10 J.

Masses of heavy particles are quoted in GeV/c squared. A proton is about 0.938 GeV/c squared, and the Higgs boson, announced on 4 July 2012 at CERN, has a mass near 125 GeV, about 133 times the proton. At the Large Hadron Collider each proton beam reached 6.5 TeV in 2015, which is 6,500 GeV. The step above is the TeV, a thousand GeV, so the GeV sits in the middle of the energy range of high-energy physics.

1 gigaelectronvolt = 1.602176634×10⁻¹⁰ joules (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Bevatron; Wikipedia: Large Hadron Collider; Wikipedia: Electronvolt; Wikipedia: Proton

Kilojoule (kJ)

Metric (SI)Current unit

1,000 joules. Food labels in many countries give energy in kilojoules.

Most food labels around the world express energy in kilojoules, which is the calorie's long retirement in action. The calorie came out of heat measurement, and the 1948 CGPM resolution stated that the joule should be preferred as the unit of heat. Labels that still show kilocalories alongside kilojoules rely on the thermochemical calorie of exactly 4.184 joules, so one kilocalorie is about 4.184 kJ.

The kilojoule is a convenient size for a body's daily bookkeeping. A person at rest uses about 5,000 kJ, or roughly 1,200 kcal, per day, and the recommended intake for a moderately active woman is given as 2,000 food calories, which is about 8,400 kJ.

Smaller physical comparisons land in the same range. One watt-hour is 3.6 kJ, a British thermal unit is about 1.1 kJ, exploding a gram of TNT releases about 4.2 kJ, and an alkaline AA battery holds about 9 kJ.

1 kilojoule = 1,000 joules (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Kilojoule; Wikipedia: Joule; Wikipedia: Orders of magnitude (energy)

Related conversions

See all energy units.