Convert Petawatts to Megawatts
Convert Petawatts (PW) to Megawatts (MW) instantly and accurately.
Conversion Formula
MW = PW × 1000000000
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.
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.
Quick Reference Table
| Petawatts (PW) | Megawatts (MW) |
|---|---|
| 1 PW | 1000000000 MW |
| 2 PW | 2 × 109 MW |
| 5 PW | 5 × 109 MW |
| 10 PW | 1 × 1010 MW |
| 25 PW | 2.5 × 1010 MW |
| 50 PW | 5 × 1010 MW |
| 100 PW | 1 × 1011 MW |