Convert Picowatts to Petawatts
Convert Picowatts (pW) to Petawatts (PW) instantly and accurately.
Conversion Formula
PW = pW × 1.000000000e-27
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 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
| Picowatts (pW) | Petawatts (PW) |
|---|---|
| 1 pW | 1 × 10-27 PW |
| 2 pW | 2 × 10-27 PW |
| 5 pW | 5 × 10-27 PW |
| 10 pW | 1 × 10-26 PW |
| 25 pW | 2.5 × 10-26 PW |
| 50 pW | 5 × 10-26 PW |
| 100 pW | 1 × 10-25 PW |