Convert Watts to Nanowatts
Convert Watts (W) to Nanowatts (nW) instantly and accurately.
Conversion Formula
nW = W × 1000000000
About Watts
The watt (W) is the SI unit of power - 1 J/s - named after James Watt (1736-1819). Familiar power levels: smartphone charging 5-65 W; laptop 15-100 W; microwave 700-1,200 W; electric kettle 2,000-3,000 W; human resting metabolism ~80 W; peak sprint ~2,000 W. The now-obsolete 100 W incandescent bulb is replaced by a 10-15 W LED producing the same light. In AC circuits, reactive power uses the var and apparent power the VA, both derived from watts. 1 W = 1 J/s = 1 kg·m²/s³.
About Nanowatts
A nanowatt (nW) is 10⁻⁹ W - the power scale of ultra-low-power embedded systems. Cardiac pacemakers deliver sensing pulses at nanowatt levels to preserve 7-10 year battery life. RFID tags harvest ~10-200 nW from reader fields. Solar cells in wristwatches and calculators operate on ambient indoor light yielding tens of nanowatts. A standard AA cell (13,500 J) discharged at 1 nW would last over 400 years. Neuromorphic chips target 10-100 nW per neuron-equivalent circuit. 1 nW = 10⁻⁹ W.
Quick Reference Table
| Watts (W) | Nanowatts (nW) |
|---|---|
| 1 W | 1000000000 nW |
| 2 W | 2 × 109 nW |
| 5 W | 5 × 109 nW |
| 10 W | 1 × 1010 nW |
| 25 W | 2.5 × 1010 nW |
| 50 W | 5 × 1010 nW |
| 100 W | 1 × 1011 nW |