Watt to Megawatt Converter

A watt (W) is the SI unit of power, defined as one joule per second. Named after Scottish inventor James Watt, it represents the rate of energy transfer and is fundamental to all power measurements in the International System of Units.

The watt was named after James Watt in 1882 and became the SI unit of power in 1960. It replaced various earlier power units and provided a unified measure based on the fundamental relationship between energy and time, becoming universal in scientific and technical applications.

Watts are universally used for all power measurements, from small electronic devices to large machinery. They're fundamental in electrical engineering, physics, energy efficiency ratings, and form the basis for all other power unit measurements.

A megawatt (MW) is a unit of power equal to one million watts (10⁶ W). It represents large amounts of power commonly used to describe the output of power plants, large motors, and significant electrical installations.

The megawatt became standard with the growth of electrical power systems in the early 20th century. It provided an appropriate scale for describing power plant capacities, large industrial equipment, and electrical grid components as electricity became widespread.

Megawatts are extensively used in the power industry for plant capacity ratings, large motor specifications, wind turbine output, and electrical grid planning. They're standard for power plant ratings, large industrial equipment, and renewable energy project specifications.