cal

What is a Calorie?

Definition

A calorie (cal) is a unit of energy equal to approximately 4.184 joules. It is the energy needed to raise 1 gram of water by 1°C.

Popular Calorie Conversions

Most common conversions from Calories

1 cal = 4.184 J Calorie to Joules 1 cal = 0.004184 kJ Calorie to Kilojoules 1 cal = 0.001 kcal Calorie to Kilocalories 1 cal = 0.0011622222 Wh Calorie to Watt Hours 1 cal = 0.0000011622 kWh Calorie to Kilowatt Hours 1 cal = 26,114,473,967,543,832,576 eV Calorie to Electronvolts

History

The calorie was first defined by Nicolas Clément in 1824. The term comes from the Latin 'calor' meaning heat.

Common Uses

Historical energy measurements
Chemistry and thermodynamics
Scientific literature
Some food labels (as kcal)

Fun Facts

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Food 'Calories' are actually kilocalories

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A capital 'C' Calorie equals 1,000 small 'c' calories

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The calorie is being replaced by the joule in science

All Calorie Conversions

Calories to Joules cal → J Calories to Kilojoules cal → kJ Calories to Kilocalories cal → kcal Calories to Watt Hours cal → Wh Calories to Kilowatt Hours cal → kWh Calories to Electronvolts cal → eV Calories to BTUs cal → BTU Calories to Therms cal → thm