JOULE

unit of work or energy in the International System (SI) of Units; it is equal to the work done by a force of one newton acting through one metre. Named in honour of the English physicist James Prescott Joule, it equals 107 ergs, or approximately 0.7377 foot-pounds. In electrical terms, the joule equals one watt-secondi.e., the energy released in one second by a current of one ampere through a resistance of one ohm.