milliwatti

Milliwatt is an SI derived unit of power equal to one thousandth of a watt. It is written with the symbol mW, where the prefix milli- denotes 10^-3. Therefore, 1 mW equals 0.001 W, and 1 W equals 1000 mW. The milliwatt is used to express small power levels in electronics, optoelectronics, and other low-power applications.

In practical terms, milliwatts describe the power consumption or output of devices such as LEDs, sensors, and wireless transmitters. For example, many energy-efficient LEDs and small sensors operate in the milliwatt range, and battery-powered microcontrollers may draw a few milliwatts to tens of milliwatts depending on activity.

Power is related to energy by time; energy is measured in watt-hours or joules, while a milliwatt-hour (mWh) is one thousandth of a watt-hour. Since 1 Wh equals 3600 J, 1 mWh equals 3.6 J.

Caution: The lowercase m distinguishes milli- from the megawatt symbol MW, which denotes 10^6 W. In English, the standard plural is milliwatts; 'milliwatti' is not common in English but may occur in other languages or contexts.