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milliwatt

milliwatt

1 4.2
A unit of power equal to one thousandth of a watt
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪliˌwɑt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : miliwatio
  • If the earth were an ideal black body, 250 milliwatts would change the temperature by 0.04°C.
  • range of milliwatts

Examples

  • The initial device was relatively tiny and only produced 1.3 milliwatts of power.

  • That necessary power is in the milliwatt range.

    Academic text (2010)
  • But this is just a a few milliwatts I think.

  • Low power: 50 to 100 milliwatts.

    Blog text (31)
  • This was a 50 milliwatt unit originally, which has been increased to 600 milliwatts...

  • To produce a milliwatt of power, unfortunately, the reactor consumes a kilowatt.

    Blog text (1)
  • Ultraviolet level now exceeding 100 milliwatts.

  • Future outer solar systems, as well as other missions for which solar power is not sufficient, will require reliable, long-lived, rugged power sources, ranging from milliwatts to kilowatts, to support instruments and communications.

    Academic text (2004)
  • This was a 50 milliwatt unit originally, which has been increased to 600 milliwatts.

  • To produce a milliwatt of power, unfortunately, the reactor consumes a kilowatt.

How Powerful

megawatt
  • Specialized
20 3.9
kilowatt
  • Specialized
16 3.2
electric power
  • Specialized
14 3.4
watt
  • Specialized
106 2.9
milliwatt
  • Specialized
1 4.2

Surface Forms

milliwatt singular
milliwatts plural

Morphology

milliwatt = watt (transparent) = milli + watt

The SI prefix 'milli' denotes one thousandth and combines directly with the unit 'watt' to yield a straightforward proportional meaning.

Etymology

Milliwatt comes from the prefix milli-, meaning 'one thousandth', plus watt, the unit named after engineer James Watt. So a milliwatt is 'one thousandth of a watt', a very small amount of power often used to talk about tiny electronic devices and laser pointers.