Btu

views updated May 21 2018

Btu

Abbreviation for "British Thermal Unit," the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. One Btu is equivalent to 1,054 joules or 252 calories. To gain an impression of the size of a Btu, the combustion of a barrel of oil yields about 5.6 x 10⁶ joule. A multiple of the Btu, the quad, is commonly used in discussions of national and international energy issues. The term quad is an abbreviation for one quadrillion, or 10¹⁵, Btu.

Environmental Encyclopedia

Btu

views updated Jun 27 2018

Btu (also BTU) • abbr. British thermal unit(s).

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

BTU

views updated May 14 2018

BTU Board of Trade unit
• (USA) British thermal unit

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH

Btu

views updated Jun 08 2018

Btu British thermal unit

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH