• Introduction
• Work
• Power
• Review & Tasks

Now that we know how to compute work, we can determine power. Power is the rate at which work is done on an object.

P = W/t

Since the unit for work is the Joule, and the unit for time is the second, then Power = Joules/second which is given the name Watt. You may remember that James Watt was the inventor of steam engines. In the previous example, if it takes the crane 6 seconds to lift the crate to the deck, then the power is 30,000J/6s or 5,000 watts.

James Watt (1736-1819), British inventor.. IRC. 2005. Discovery Education. 18 March 2009 <http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>