Definition:Large Calorie
Definition
The large calorie is a CGS unit of heat energy.
It was originally defined as equal to the energy required to raise the temperature of $1$ kilogram of water by $1 \cels$.
However, it is noted that this energy depends upon the initial temperature of the water itself.
Hence it is now usually defined as $1000$ times the value of the international calorie
This unit is generally used in the food industry to provide an estimate of the energy provided by particular foods.
Conversion Factors
| \(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | large calorie | |||||||||||
| \(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 4186 \cdotp 8\) | joules | \(\quad\) (exact) | ||||||||||
| \(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 1000\) | international calories | \(\quad\) (exact) |
Symbol
The symbols used to denote the large calorie are $\mathrm {Cal}$ or $\mathrm {kcal}$.
Also known as
The large calorie is also known as:
- the kilogram calorie
- the kilocalorie
- the dietary calorie
- the food calorie.
It is also known as the Calorie (that is, the same as the small c calorie but with a capital C.
This is too confusing for effective use, so it is not to be used on $\mathsf{Pr} \infty \mathsf{fWiki}$.
Also see
Sources
- 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): calorie
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): calorie