what units are used for work done? give the full name, not the symbol.

Joule is the primary unit used for work done in physics.
The full name of this SI unit honors James Prescott Joule, defined as the work from one newton of force over one meter. Other systems employ different full names like "erg" in CGS or "foot-pound" in imperial measurements.

Core Unit

Work done measures force times displacement, with the joule (full name: joule) as the standard SI unit worldwide.

One joule equals one newton-meter, though "newton-meter" describes the derivation rather than the official name. This unit applies across mechanics, thermodynamics, and energy contexts as of January 2026 standards.

Alternative Units

Various systems use these full names for work:

• Erg : CGS system unit, from one dyne over one centimeter

• Foot-pound : Imperial unit for engineering tasks like torque

• Kilowatt-hour : Practical for electrical energy, equaling massive joules

• Electronvolt : Atomic-scale work in particle physics

Comparisons

System| Full Unit Name| Equivalent in Joules
---|---|---
SI (MKS)| Joule| 1 J = 1 N·m 1
CGS| Erg| 1 erg = 10⁻⁷ J 5
Imperial| Foot-pound| 1 ft-lb ≈ 1.356 J 3
Electrical| Kilowatt-hour| 1 kWh = 3.6×10⁶ J 2

TL;DR: Joule is the go-to full unit name for work done; erg and foot-pound serve niche roles.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.