SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/eng-watt-joule-per-second
A watt measures power. What is one watt equal to?
One joule per second: power is how fast energy is used or delivered.
- One joule per hour
- One newton per meter
- One joule per second ✔
Why: Power is the rate of doing work. A 100 W bulb uses 100 joules every second. The watt hour is an amount of energy, not a power.
Huh, didn't know that: One horsepower is about 746 watts.
Watt did the light bulb say to the switch? You turn me on.
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References
Answer: One joule per second. Power is the rate of doing work. A 100 W bulb uses 100 joules every second. The watt hour is an amount of energy, not a power.
- OpenStax University Physics Volume 1: 7.4 Power openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/7-4-power
power is measured in units of joules per second, which has been given the SI name watts, abbreviation W
Checked 2026-10-10.
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