watt

Also known as watts

The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor of James Watt (1736–1819), an 18th-century Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved the Newcomen engine with his own steam engine in 1776, which became fundamental for the Industrial Revolution.

AI overview

A watt is the standard unit used to measure power—the rate at which energy is being used or transferred—and is equal to one joule of energy per second. It matters because it's the universal way we quantify how much energy devices consume or produce, from light bulbs to power plants, making it essential for understanding and managing energy use.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Unit.name: watt
Unit.image: Alimentation 420 W.jpg
Unit.caption: A 420-watt power supply
Unit.standard: SI
Unit.quantity: power
Unit.symbol: W
Unit.namedafter: James Watt
Unit.units1: SI base units
Unit.inunits1: 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3
Unit.units2: CGS units
Unit.units3: English Engineering Units
Unit.inunits3: =

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Show 5 more facts

unit symbol: W
conversion to SI unit: 1
Wikidata SPARQL query equivalent: wd:Q25236 p:P2370/psn:P2370 [wikibase:quantityAmount ?source; wikibase:quantityUnit ?base]. ?item p:P2370/psn:P2370 [wikibase:quantityAmount ?target; wikibase:quantityUnit ?base]. BIND(?source / ?target as ?value)
Commons category: Watt
NCI Thesaurus ID: C42549

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~13 min read

Article

10 sections

Contents

Overview
Examples
History
Multiples
Radio transmission
Distinction between watts and watt-hours
See also
Explanatory notes
References
External links

==Overview== When an object's velocity is held constant at one meter per second against a constant opposing force of one newton, the rate at which work is done is one watt. \mathrm{1 ~ W = 1 ~ J {/} s = 1 ~ N {\cdot} m {/} s = 1 ~ kg {\cdot} m^2 {\cdot} s^{-3}}.