Joule heating effect

Last revised by Daniel J Bell on 2 Aug 2021

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Sciacca F, Bell D, Moore C, Joule heating effect. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 24 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-71658

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-71658

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/71658

rID:

71658

Article created:

16 Oct 2019, Francesco Sciacca ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Francesco Sciacca had no recorded disclosures.

View Francesco Sciacca's current disclosures

Last revised:

2 Aug 2021, Daniel J Bell ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Daniel J Bell had no recorded disclosures.

View Daniel J Bell's current disclosures

Revisions:

4 times, by 3 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Sections:

Imaging Technology

Tags:

joule heating effect

Synonyms:

Joule effect

The Joule heating effect is the physical phenomenon whereby the passage of electric current in a metallic conductor produces heat.

The effect is the physical phenomenon on which the heating of the cathode filament of a x-ray tube depends. The electric current flowing through the tungsten filament of a x-ray tube usually varies between 3 and 8 A, generated by applying a voltage of between 10 and 20 V to the filament itself, i.e. it is a low voltage current (cf. high voltage tube current).

History and etymology

The name of the effect is in honor of the scientist, James Prescott Joule (1818-1889), who discovered it. The unit of energy, the joule (symbol J) is also named after him.