Browse Acronyms

Browse the acronym list:

K Listing

K
– kelvin [plural is kelvins; SI unit of thermodynamic temperature and temperature intervals; do not use degrees or degree sign (°) with K for kelvin or kelvins (i.e., 273 K, not 273°K)]
– potassium (element, Z = 19)
– thousand(s) [when used with dollars, use only when preceded by dollar sign and one or more numbers; use no space between number and K (e.g., $3K = $3000 or three thousand dollars)]

k
– kilo [thousand, prefix (10³)]
– thermal conductivity

K·m
kelvin meter

K-25 Site
Oak Ridge K-25 Site (now known as East Tennessee Technology Park)

K_a
value of stress intensity factor shortly after arrest

kA
kiloampere

KACCD
Knoxville Area Community Center for the Deaf

KAFaD
K-25 Auxiliary Facility Demolition

KAFB
Kirtland Air Force Base

Kans.
Kansas (use after city names in references, lists, tables, footnotes, bibliographies, and indexes; spell out in text)

KAPL
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory

KAR
Kentucky Administration Regulations

KAS
Kentucky Academy of Sciences

KAS-KSNPC
Kentucky Academy of Sciences and Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission

KATIE
Knowledge-Based Assistant for Troubleshooting Industrial Equipment

kB
kilobyte (preferred over "KB" and "kbyte")

KB
kilobyte ("kB" is preferred)

Kbps
thousand bits per second

KBS
Knowledge-Based Systems (section of C&TS)

KBTC
Knoxville Building Trades Council

kbyte
kilobyte ("kB" is preferred)

KC
Kansas City Area Office (DOE)

kcal
kilocalorie [convert to SI: joule (J)]

kCi
kilocurie [convert to SI: becquerel (Bq); sometimes "curie" is acceptable]

KCPA
Kentucky College Placement Association

KDEP
Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection

KDWM
Kentucky Department of Waste Management

KE
– Kesselring Site Office (DOE)
– kinetic energy

KEMA
Keuring van Electrotechnische Materialen

KEP
kinetic energy penetrator

ker
kernel (math)

KES
knowledge engineering system

keV
kiloelectron volt [convert to SI: joule (J); sometimes "eV" is acceptable]

KEW
kinetic energy weapon

KFA
Kernforschungsanlage (Jülich, Germany)

KfK
Kernforschungszentrum Karlshrue (Germany)

kg
kilogram

kg·m
kilogram meter

kg·m²
kilogram square meter

kg·m³
kilogram cubic meter

kg-wt
kilogram-weight

KHQ
Kerr Hollow Quarry

kHz
kilohertz

K_I
stress intensity factor

K_Ia
crack-arrest fracture toughness K_a for a crack that arrests under conditions of crack front plain strain

K_Ic
plain-strain fracture toughness

kip
kilopound (thousand pounds, force) [convert to SI: newton (N)]

KIRC
K-25 Site ERWM Information Resource Center (formerly ATL)

KISMET
Kinematic Simulation, Monitoring, and Off-Line Programming Environment for Telerobotics

kJ
kilojoule

K_Jc
fracture toughness calculated from the J-integral J_c at the point of cleavage

KKR
Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker approximation method

KLT
Karhunan-Loéve transform

km
kilometer

km²
square kilometer

KMCFMT
K-25 Site Microcomputing Cross-Functional Management Team

KMS
K.M.S. Fusion (a company name)

knot
[do not abbreviate this word; convert to SI: meters per second (m/s)]

K_o
stress intensity factor at crack initiation

KOM
kilometric wavelength

KOSW
Knoxville Office of Solid Waste

K_ow
octanol-water partition coefficient

KPDES
Kentucky Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

Kr
krypton (element, Z = 36)

KRC
Knoxville Recycling Coalition

KrF
krypton-fluorine

KRITIC
Knowledge-Based Review and Intervention to Impose Constraints (SNL)

KRW
Kellogg-Rust-Westinghouse

KS
– Kansas (use only with ZIP code addresses)
– Kansas City Support Office (DOE)

KSA
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (U.S. Army)

KSC
Kennedy Space Center

ksi
kilopounds per square inch [convert to SI: pascal (Pa)]

KSNPC
Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission

KSR
Kendall Square Research

KSU
Kansas State University

kt
kiloton (or kilotonne) [convert to SI: kilogram (kg) for mass, joule (J) for energy, or newton (N) for force]

KUB
Knoxville Utilities Board

kV
kilovolt

kV/m
kilovolts per meter

kVA
kilovolt-ampere

kvar
kilovar (kilovolt-ampere reactive)

kVm
kilovoltmeter

kVp
kilovolts peak

kW
kilowatt

kWh
kilowatt-hour

kWh(e)
kilowatt-hour (electrical)

kWh(t)
kilowatt-hour (thermal)

KWU
Kraftwerk Union

KY
Kentucky (use only with ZIP code addresses)

Ky.
Kentucky (use after city names in references, lists, tables, footnotes, bibliographies, and indexes; spell out in text; state name is not needed with Louisville)

kω
kilohm