milliwatt Overview


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.


Key terms in plain language

Open a term for a concise explanation of language used on this page.

Broadband

A general term for always-on, high-speed Internet access. Broadband can be delivered over fiber, cable, DSL, fixed wireless, cellular, or satellite networks.

Cloud Computing

Computing resources—such as applications, servers, storage, or databases—delivered from remote infrastructure and scaled as requirements change.

Cybersecurity

The practices and controls used to protect identities, devices, networks, applications, and data from unauthorized access, disruption, or manipulation.

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

The systems and policies that determine who a user is, what resources they may access, and how that access is authenticated and reviewed.

API

An application programming interface is a defined way for software systems to exchange data or request functions from one another.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Software designed to perform tasks involving prediction, classification, generation, reasoning, or decision support. Business use still requires clear data, governance, security, and human accountability.