Experiment with turnstiles of single electrons shows way towards new power standard

Researchers at Aalto University have found a promising new way to link the watt (the unit of power) to the constants of nature. They believe their method could show the way towards a new power standard, that is, a new way to produce an a-priori known amount of power against which other power sources and detectors can be compared. The researchers have developed a device that converts frequency to power. Frequency is a quantity that can be set with low uncertainty, and therefore it provides a solid basis for a new standard.