The calorie, commonly associated with food energy, originally measured heat in physics. One calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. Despite what food packaging might suggest, when we count calories, we are typically referring to kilocalories, which equals 1,000 of these small calories. This means that when you see a snack label stating it’s 100 calories, it’s actually 100 kilocalories, or 100,000 calories in scientific terms!

Interestingly, the calorie became a popular unit due to its early use in nutrition studies and its role in determining food’s energy content. This is crucial, as it helps in planning and maintaining balanced diets and understanding energy expenditure for health and fitness.

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The kilojoule, abbreviated as kJ, is a unit of energy in the International System of Units. While it may not be as commonly recognized as calories in everyday conversation, the kilojoule is actually the standard metric unit for quantifying energy. Fascinatingly, 1 kilojoule is equivalent to 0.239 calories, making it a handy unit for converting nutritional information, especially in countries that primarily use the metric system.

Interestingly, the term “joule” is named after the English physicist James Prescott Joule, who studied the nature of heat and discovered its relationship to mechanical work. This unit has applications far beyond nutrition, including physics, chemistry, and engineering, where it measures various types of energy transformations, from kinetic to thermal. Understanding kilojoules can deepen our appreciation of energy, highlighting the intricate balances that power our world and our bodies.

Calories

Kilojoules

0 cal

0 kJ

10 cal

0.04184 kJ

20 cal

0.08368 kJ

30 cal

0.12552 kJ

40 cal

0.16736 kJ

50 cal

0.2092 kJ

60 cal

0.25104 kJ

70 cal

0.29288 kJ

80 cal

0.33472 kJ

90 cal

0.37656 kJ

100 cal

0.4184 kJ

110 cal

0.46024 kJ

120 cal

0.50208 kJ

130 cal

0.54392 kJ

140 cal

0.58576 kJ

150 cal

0.6276 kJ

160 cal

0.66944 kJ

170 cal

0.71128 kJ

180 cal

0.75312 kJ

190 cal

0.79496 kJ

200 cal

0.8368 kJ

210 cal

0.87864 kJ

220 cal

0.92048 kJ

230 cal

0.96232 kJ

240 cal

1.00416 kJ

250 cal

1.046 kJ

260 cal

1.08784 kJ

270 cal

1.12968 kJ

280 cal

1.17152 kJ

290 cal

1.21336 kJ

300 cal

1.2552 kJ

310 cal

1.29704 kJ

320 cal

1.33888 kJ

330 cal

1.38072 kJ

340 cal

1.42256 kJ

350 cal

1.4644 kJ

360 cal

1.50624 kJ

370 cal

1.54808 kJ

380 cal

1.58992 kJ

390 cal

1.63176 kJ

400 cal

1.6736 kJ

410 cal

1.71544 kJ

420 cal

1.75728 kJ

430 cal

1.79912 kJ

440 cal

1.84096 kJ

450 cal

1.8828 kJ

460 cal

1.92464 kJ

470 cal

1.96648 kJ

480 cal

2.00832 kJ

490 cal

2.05016 kJ

500 cal

2.092 kJ

510 cal

2.13384 kJ

520 cal

2.17568 kJ

530 cal

2.21752 kJ

540 cal

2.25936 kJ

550 cal

2.3012 kJ

560 cal

2.34304 kJ

570 cal

2.38488 kJ

580 cal

2.42672 kJ

590 cal

2.46856 kJ

600 cal

2.5104 kJ

610 cal

2.55224 kJ

620 cal

2.59408 kJ

630 cal

2.63592 kJ

640 cal

2.67776 kJ

650 cal

2.7196 kJ

660 cal

2.76144 kJ

670 cal

2.80328 kJ

680 cal

2.84512 kJ

690 cal

2.88696 kJ

700 cal

2.9288 kJ

710 cal

2.97064 kJ

720 cal

3.01248 kJ

730 cal

3.05432 kJ

740 cal

3.09616 kJ

750 cal

3.138 kJ

760 cal

3.17984 kJ

770 cal

3.22168 kJ

780 cal

3.26352 kJ

790 cal

3.30536 kJ

800 cal

3.3472 kJ

810 cal

3.38904 kJ

820 cal

3.43088 kJ

830 cal

3.47272 kJ

840 cal

3.51456 kJ

850 cal

3.5564 kJ

860 cal

3.59824 kJ

870 cal

3.64008 kJ

880 cal

3.68192 kJ

890 cal

3.72376 kJ

900 cal

3.7656 kJ

910 cal

3.80744 kJ

920 cal

3.84928 kJ

930 cal

3.89112 kJ

940 cal

3.93296 kJ

950 cal

3.9748 kJ

960 cal

4.01664 kJ

970 cal

4.05848 kJ

980 cal

4.10032 kJ

990 cal

4.14216 kJ

1000 cal

4.184 kJ

Conversion

Calories to Watt-seconds

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Calories to Watt-minutes

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Calories to Watt-hours

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Calories to Milliwatt-hours

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Calories to Kilowatt-hours

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Calories to Megawatt-hours

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Calories to Gigawatt-hours

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Calories to Joules

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Calories to Megajoules

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Calories to Gigajoules

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Calories to Kilocalories

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Calories to Kilojoules Conversion

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> Calories to Kilojoules Conversion Table

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:: Energy Units

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