Convert Megawatts to Petawatts
Convert Megawatts (MW) to Petawatts (PW) instantly and accurately.
Conversion Formula
PW = MW × 1.000000000e-9
About Megawatts
A megawatt (MW) is 10⁶ W - the standard unit for utility power plant output. A coal unit produces 300-900 MW; a large nuclear reactor 1,000-1,600 MW. Offshore wind turbines reach 15 MW each (Vestas V236-15.0). The Three Gorges Dam totals 22,500 MW. Aluminium smelters consume 500-600 MW; electric arc furnaces 100-300 MW. Solar farms are rated in MWp; pharmaceutical clean-room HVAC systems in MW. 1 MW = 10⁶ W = 1,341 mechanical hp.
About Petawatts
A petawatt (PW) is 10¹⁵ W. Total solar power intercepted by Earth is ~174 PW. The world's most powerful laser pulses operate at petawatt peak power via chirped pulse amplification (CPA, 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics): China's SULF demonstrated 10 PW in 2019; ELI-NP targets 10 PW. These PW pulses last femtoseconds and create plasma temperatures of billions of kelvin in laboratory targets. Gamma-ray bursts radiate 10²⁴-10²⁷ W at peak - thousands to billions of times the petawatt scale. 1 PW = 10¹⁵ W.
Quick Reference Table
| Megawatts (MW) | Petawatts (PW) |
|---|---|
| 1 MW | 1 × 10-9 PW |
| 2 MW | 2 × 10-9 PW |
| 5 MW | 5 × 10-9 PW |
| 10 MW | 1 × 10-8 PW |
| 25 MW | 2.5 × 10-8 PW |
| 50 MW | 5 × 10-8 PW |
| 100 MW | 1 × 10-7 PW |