<Li> A person having a mass of 100 kilograms who climbs a 3 - meter - high ladder in 5 seconds is doing work at a rate of about 600 watts . Mass times acceleration due to gravity times height divided by the time it takes to lift the object to the given height gives the rate of doing work or power . </Li> <Li> A laborer over the course of an 8 - hour day can sustain an average output of about 75 watts; higher power levels can be achieved for short intervals and by athletes . </Li> <P> The watt is named after the Scottish inventor James Watt for his contributions to the development of the steam engine . The measurement unit was recognized by the Second Congress of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1882, concurrent with the start of commercial power production from both water and steam . In 1960 the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures adopted it for the measurement of power into the International System of Units (SI). </P> <Dl> <Dd> For additional examples of magnitude for multiples and submultiples of the watt, see Orders of magnitude (power) </Dd> </Dl>

Unit of electrical power named after scottish inventor