PW

PW is an initialism that can refer to several concepts depending on context. It is used across computing, science, and geography, among other fields, and its meaning is usually clarified by the surrounding text.

In computing and information security, PW most commonly stands for password, a secret used to authenticate a user. Passwords are typically stored and managed with security practices such as hashing, salting, and, increasingly, multi-factor authentication.

In physics and engineering, PW stands for petawatt, a unit of power equal to 10^15 watts. Petawatt-scale power is used in discussions of high-energy physics and in the operation of ultra-intense laser facilities.

In geography and internet infrastructure, PW is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code for Palau, and the corresponding internet domain is the .pw top-level domain. The code is used in international shipping, communications, and digital addressing related to Palau.

In electronics and signal processing, PW can denote pulse width, the duration of a signal pulse. Pulse width is a key parameter in timing analyses and in modulation schemes such as pulse-width modulation.