A milliwatt (mW) is a unit of power in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one-thousandth (1/1000) of a watt, which is the standard unit of power. In mathematical terms, 1 milliwatt is equal to 0.001 watts or 10^-3 watts.
Milliwatts are often used to measure lower power levels, especially in electronic devices, telecommunications, and electrical engineering. For example, many electronic components and small devices are rated in milliwatts to indicate their power consumption or output.
Here’s a simple conversion:
1 watt = 1,000 milliwatts (mW)
So, if you have a power value in watts and want to express it in milliwatts, you can multiply it by 1,000. Conversely, to convert from milliwatts to watts, you would divide the value in milliwatts by 1,000.
For instance, if you have a device that consumes 5 milliwatts of power, you can convert it to watts as follows:
5 mW = 5 / 1,000 = 0.005 watts
Milliwatts are a convenient unit for measuring small amounts of power and are commonly used in various technical and scientific contexts.