Watt
| watt | |
|---|---|
A 420-watt power supply | |
| General information | |
| Unit system | SI |
| Unit of | power |
| Symbol | W |
| Named after | James Watt |
| Conversions | |
| 1 W in ... | ... is equal to ... |
| SI base units | 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3 |
| CGS units | 107 erg⋅s−1 |
| English Engineering Units | 0.7375621 ft⋅lbf/s = 0.001341022 hp |
| Electromagnetism |
|---|
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.