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| the splitting of the nucleus of an atom into nuclei of lighter atoms, accompanied by the release of energy |
| a quantized state in which matter may exist, having constant energy and separated from others in the series by finite quantities of energy |
| Joule's law | |
| —n | |
| 1. | physics the principle that the heat produced by an electric current is equal to the product of the resistance of the conductor, the square of the current, and the time for which it flows |
| 2. | thermodynamics the principle that at constant temperature the internal energy of an ideal gas is independent of volume. Real gases change their internal energy with volume as a result of intermolecular forces |
| [C19: named after James Prescott | |
Joule's law
in electricity, mathematical description of the rate at which resistance in a circuit converts electric energy into heat energy. The English physicist James Prescott Joule discovered in 1840 that the amount of heat per second that develops in a wire carrying a current is proportional to the electrical resistance of the wire and the square of the current. He determined that the heat evolved per second is equivalent to the electric power absorbed, or the power loss.
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