Video Transcript
How many electron volts are in one mega-electron volt?
This is a question about unit prefixes, specifically the prefix of M in MeV. A capital M indicates a unit prefix of mega, which corresponds with values that are 10 to the power of six times larger, which is one followed by six zeros, which is one million. This means any time we see a unit like meters, joules, or electron volts, a prefix of mega, which we indicate with a capital M in front of the normal unit abbreviation, means that this unit is 10 to the power of six times larger, or one million times larger. So a single unit with a prefix of mega, whether it’s a megameter, megajoule, mega-electron volt, or any unit at all, indicates a value of one million normal units of that type, which we can abbreviate as 10 to the power of six.
Therefore, the answer to “How many electron volts are in one mega-electron volt?” is 10 to the power of six electron volts, or one million electron volts.
