Convert Picowatts to Ergs per Second
Convert Picowatts (pW) to Ergs per Second (erg/s) instantly and accurately.
Conversion Formula
erg/s = pW × 1.000000000e-5
About Picowatts
A picowatt (pW) is 10⁻¹² W - the power scale of the most sensitive radio receivers. GPS satellites transmit 20-50 W; by the time that signal spans 20,000 km, the received power is ~0.1 pW (−130 dBm). Radio telescopes routinely detect cosmic signals in the picowatt range. Qubit control electronics in quantum computers must resolve energy differences at picowatt scales. Photodetectors in single-photon counting mode, hard drive head read-back signals at idle, and deep-shadow solar cells also operate at picowatt levels. 1 pW = 10⁻¹² W.
About Ergs per Second
An erg per second (erg/s) is the CGS unit of power - exactly 10⁻⁷ W. Despite SI adoption, erg/s persists in astrophysics: the Sun's total luminosity is 3.828 × 10³³ erg/s; a peak supernova radiates ~10⁴³ erg/s - more power than the Sun emits over its 10-billion-year lifetime. X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, and neutron star accretion rates are catalogued in erg/s across decades of archival literature. 1 erg/s = 10⁻⁷ W.
Quick Reference Table
| Picowatts (pW) | Ergs per Second (erg/s) |
|---|---|
| 1 pW | 1 × 10-5 erg/s |
| 2 pW | 2 × 10-5 erg/s |
| 5 pW | 5 × 10-5 erg/s |
| 10 pW | 0.0001 erg/s |
| 25 pW | 0.00025 erg/s |
| 50 pW | 0.0005 erg/s |
| 100 pW | 0.001 erg/s |