Calorie Definition
What is a Calorie?
A calorie is a unit of energy.
Rather confusingly, the term "calorie" may refer to two types
of calorie - a large one and a small one!
Large Calories
The large "calorie"
is the amount of energy, or heat, it takes to raise the temperature of
1 kilogram gram of water 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). One
large calorie is equal to 4,184 joules. It is commonly used in food energy
measurement and appears on food labels as "kilocalories." It
may also be referred to a a "food calorie."
Small Calories
The small "calorie"
is the amount of energy, or heat, it takes to raise the temperature of
1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). One small calorie
is equal to 4.184 joules. It may also be referred to as an "energy
calorie."
Calories are Simply Units
of Energy
We tend to associate calories
with food, but anything containing energy contains calories. For example,
a gallon (about 4 liters) of gasoline contains about 31,000,000 calories!
For calorie details of 2500
Foods, see Calories
in Food
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