Megawatt

The megawatt (symbol: MW) is a unit for measuring power equal to one million (106) watts.

Related Topics:
Power - Million - Watt

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The productive capacity of electrical generators operated by utility companies is often measured in MW. Few things can sustain the transfer or consumption of energy on this scale; some of these events or entities include: lightning strikes, naval craft (such as aircraft carriers and submarines), engineering hardware, and some scientific research equipment (such as the supercollider and large lasers)

Related Topics:
Electrical generator - Utility companies - Lightning - Aircraft carrier - Submarine - Supercollider - Laser

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For reference, about 10,000 100-watt lightbulbs or 2,000 computers would be needed to draw 1 megawatt. Also, 1 MW equals approximately 1341 Horsepower. Modern high-powered diesel-electric railroad locomotives typically have a peak power output of 3–5 MW, whereas a typical modern nuclear power plant produces on the order of 500–2000 MW peak output.

Related Topics:
Lightbulb - Computers - Horsepower - Diesel-electric - Locomotive - Nuclear power plant - 500 - 2000

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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest citing for "megawatt" is a reference in the 1900 Webster's International Dictionary of English Language. The OED also says "megawatt" appeared in a 28 November 1947 article in Science (506:2).

Related Topics:
Oxford English Dictionary - Webster's - 28 November - 1947 - Science

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See Orders of magnitude (power)

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