Why Is Electricity Measured in “Watts”?
Watts are a common way to measure electricity, whether it’s the 60 watts in a standard lightbulb or the 1.21 gigawatts needed for Marty McFly to go back to the future. But the term “watt” isn’t just some scientific mumbo jumbo — it’s the last name of a prominent 18th-century
inventor, James Watt. This scientist was also known for revolutionizing the way steam engines operate, making them run more efficiently. So how did his name come to be so intertwined with measuring electricity? In 1882, at the 52nd meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, more than...
