ClimateAugust 21, 2026

terawatt

TAIR-uh-wot

Definition

A unit of power equal to one trillion watts, commonly used to measure the massive energy consumption of large-scale infrastructure like global data-center networks.

Etymology

The word is a combination of the SI prefix 'tera-' (derived from the Greek 'teras' meaning 'monster' or 'marvel') and 'watt' (named after the Scottish engineer James Watt).

In the news

The article uses 'terawatt-hours' to illustrate the immense and rapidly growing electrical demands of AI data centers, highlighting the environmental tension between digital expansion and ecological sustainability.

Can AI lead us from industrial to ecological intelligence?

Read the full article ↗

University World News

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