Kilocalorie to Terajoule Converter

A kilocalorie (kcal), also called a food calorie or large calorie, is a unit of energy equal to 1,000 small calories or approximately 4,184 joules. It represents the energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.

The kilocalorie was developed in the 19th century for measuring heat and energy, particularly in nutrition and metabolism studies. It became the standard unit for food energy content and metabolic energy measurements, though many countries have since adopted kilojoules for food labeling.

Kilocalories are widely used in nutrition and dietetics, particularly in the United States, for measuring food energy content and daily energy requirements. They're found on food labels, diet plans, exercise equipment, and in medical and fitness applications for energy balance calculations.

A terajoule (TJ) is a unit of energy equal to one trillion joules (10¹² J). It represents enormous amounts of energy, typically used for measuring energy consumption of large cities, industrial processes, or natural phenomena.

The terajoule emerged as energy consumption and production reached massive scales in the 20th century. It became necessary for describing energy in large power plants, national energy statistics, and major industrial processes where smaller units would result in unwieldy numbers.

Terajoules are used for measuring energy consumption of large cities, output of major power plants, industrial energy usage, and in energy policy and planning. They're standard in national energy statistics, large-scale renewable energy projects, and major industrial facility energy audits.