A joule is a unit of energy, named after scientist James Prescott Joule. An explosion of 4.184 gigajoules is the equivalent amount of energy to that released by one metric ton explosion.

As a measurement of power, one joule per second is equal to one watt.

Comparative list of energies

Microjoule = 0.000001 joule

• Possibly exaggerating, William T. Riker told Soren to rechannel every single microjoule to the transporter systems on the Magellan to escape disaster. (TNG: "The Outcast")

Millijoule = 0.001 joule

• Tom Paris used a cardio-stimulator to cajole the heart of Brin's son to life. Although the initial charge of 3 millijoules was unsuccessful, the second charge set at 5 millijoules was successful. (VOY: "Friendship One")
• 20 millijoules was a starting dose of energy with a cortical stimulator. (VOY: "Fury")
• A simulation of potential surgery for Seven of Nine was ended by the Doctor when he was forced to raise a neurostatic pulse from 20 millijoules to 30 millijoules. (VOY: "Imperfection")
• In 2377, a cortical simulator using an energy pulse at 50 and 70 millijoules was used successfully to save B'Elanna Torres after she suffered complications from oxygen deprivation. (VOY: "Barge of the Dead")
• Conversely, a cortical stimulator using an energy output of 75 and 90 millijoules was unable to save B'Elanna Torres (actually a Silver Blood copy) in 2375. (VOY: "Course: Oblivion")
• Despite using 300 and 350 millijoules of electricity on Hoshi Sato, Phlox was unable to resuscitate her following infection from a silicon-based virus. (ENT: "Observer Effect")

Joule

• Phlox increased a cardio-stimulator's output by 0.2 joules in order to help save Major Hayes' life. (ENT: "Countdown")
• Using an equal energy output of 25 joules, Jadzia Dax and Worf were able to link their tricorders on a mission during the Dominion War. (DS9: "Change of Heart")

Kilojoule = 1 thousand joules

• The deflector shield protecting the Lysian Central Command had an output of 4.3 kilojoules and could have easily been taken out with a single photon torpedo. (TNG: "Conundrum")

This is around a hundredth the amount of food energy in one apple.

Megajoule = 1 million joules

• Starfleet phaser rifle's energy cell has an output of 1.05 megajoules per second. (TNG: "The Mind's Eye")
• The disruptor capacity of 24th century Lysian destroyers were rated at 2.1 megajoules. (TNG: "Conundrum")
• A Cardassian phase-disruptor rifle has a 4.7 megajoule power capacity, three-millisecond recharge, and two beam settings. (DS9: "Return to Grace")
• Phase pistols of the 22nd century were generally kept under 5 megajoules of power, but Malcolm Reed discovered that increasing the capacity to 10 megajoules added enough energy to destroy Borg shielding. (ENT: "Regeneration")
• Using an annular confinement beam during investigation of null space, the Magellan used up 10 megajoules, wasting 34% of the energy reserves. (TNG: "The Outcast")

This implies the full energy reserves of the Magellan were about 29.4 megajoules, with a likely higher amount of usable energy.

• In an attempt to activate a scanner discovered in the Gamma Quadrant, Data suggests transferring 20 megajoules of energy from the dilithium chamber into the plasma inputs of the device. (TNG: "Birthright, Part I")
• When transporting a test cylinder to a Romulan science vessel through a micro-wormhole, B'Elanna Torres ordered for power to the phase transition coils to be increased to 37 megajoules. (VOY: "Eye of the Needle")
• When converting energy to power a derelict Xindi-Insectoid shuttlecraft, Charles Tucker III originally used 40 megajoules of power from Enterprise, before raising it to 50 megajoules. Due to problems with the matrix converter, they were unable to continue powering the shuttlecraft directly. (ENT: "Hatchery")
• The unidentified aliens placed a device on board Enterprise which ran with a tremendous amount of energy, over 600 megajoules. (ENT: "Silent Enemy")
• The Nechisti shrine had 800 megajoules of biogenic energy running through it. (VOY: "Sacred Ground")

Gigajoule = 1 billion joules

• The Breen CRM 114 was capable of cutting through shields with an output of up to 4.6 gigajoules. (DS9: "Business as Usual")
• 22nd century Starfleet phase cannons had multiphasic emitters and a maximum yield of 80 gigajoules. (ENT: "Cogenitor")
• These phase cannons were rated for a maximum power output of 500 gigajoules. (ENT: "Silent Enemy")

Terajoule = 1 trillion joules

• The graviton ellipse contains 30 million terajoules of subspace energy. (VOY: "One Small Step")
• A neutronic gradient encounter by the USS Voyager rose from 30 million to 90 million terajoules of energy before hitting the vessel and causing widespread system failures. (VOY: "Fair Haven")

External links

• Joule at Wikipedia
  • Gigajoule at Wikipedia
  • Orders of magnitude (energy) at Wikipedia