Article ID: CBB784542822

Watt’s in a name? Units of power and energy (2019)

unapi

The origins and adoption of the units of power and energy watt and joule are examined, along with their relationships to the achievements of their namesakes, James Watt and James Prescott Joule. The watt and joule came about as part of a group of practical electrical units named and defined in the second half of the nineteenth century. The development of that system and its relationship to the French revolutionary metric system and the current Système International (SI) is outlined. William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) and the Siemens brothers had important parts in the story; their roles and the units names after them are also described.

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB784542822/

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Authors & Contributors
Kenichi Natsume
J. E. Wolff
Miguel Ohnesorge
Jackson, Rebecca L.
Epstein, Jessica
Schlaudt, Oliver
Concepts
Measurement
Standards and standardization
Physics
Metric system
Thermodynamics
Exactness; precision; accuracy
Time Periods
19th century
21st century
20th century, late
20th century
20th century, early
18th century
Places
Polar regions
Germany
British Isles
Great Britain
Institutions
Convention du mètre (1875)
Royal Society (Great Britain). European Science Exchange Programme
International Bureau of Weights and Measures
British Association for the Advancement of Science
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