Britannica
Sources used in this answer
When was the watt adopted as an International System of Units measurement?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
James Watt
James Watt, oil painting by H. Howard; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
The watt was adopted as a unit of power in the International System of Units (SI) in 1960, during the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures.1
It is named in honor of the Scottish inventor James Watt, whose improvements to the steam engine were a defining development of the Industrial Revolution. One watt is defined as one joule of work performed per second.231