watt unit
DETAILS/DESCRIPTION:
The “watt” (W), a measurement of a unit of “real power,” was named in honor of James Watt* who developed the steam engine.
A “watt” (W) is the United States Standard unit of power in the Meter-Kilogram-Second system of units (mks). One watt equals the U.S. Standard of 1/746 horsepower.
The International watt is very slightly bigger than the US version, equaling 1.00017 watts US.
One “watt hour” is the unit of energy or work which the power of one watt is able to do in one hour. This is equal to approximately 2655 foot-pounds (i.e. moving one pound 2655ft. in one hour).
ONELINER: The watt, an SI unit named for the inventor.
OTHER CONNECTIONS: None
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary Unabridged. Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1993.
Gale Encyclopedia of Science, San Francisco: Gale Group, 2001.
DNBiography
Grolier Library of Science Biographies, Danbury, Conn: Grolier Educational. 1996.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
“Watt’s Engine.” Geocities. 2003. 28 Nov 2003.
<http://www.geocities.com/k218tl/engine.html>
Animated with links to other engine types.
“Boulton and Watt Engine”. Museum of Science and Technology: Powerhouse Museum.
28 Nov 2003.