Culture and enlightenment are not compatible with scientific illiteracy.
A few facts, physical constants and relevant parameters are provided here to set the stage and to understand the dimensions that are at stake.
A corresponding spreadsheet, containing also basic Stefan Boltzmann calculations, can be downloaded:
| Constants | Value | Units | |
|---|---|---|---|
| h (Planck's Constant) | 6.6261·10-34 | J s | |
| c (speed of light) | 299'792'458 | m s-1 | |
| k (Boltzman's Constant) | 1.3806·10-23 | J K-1 | |
| σ sigma (Stefan-Boltzman constant) | 5.67·10-08 | W m-2 K-4 | E = A · e · σ · T4 |
| Wien's Displacement Constant | 2.89777·10-03 | m K | |
| Π (Pi number) | 3.141592654 | ||
| Avogadro number | 6.022·10+23 | mol-1 | |
| R Gas constant | 8.3144621 | J K-1 mol-1 | P · V = n · R · T |
| g Gravity acceleration | 9.81 | m s-2 | |
| Absolute zero temperature, 0 K | -273.15 | °C | |
| Hours per year | 8766 | h a-1 | 365.25 · 24 |
| Seconds per year | 31'557'600 | s a-1 |
| The Sun | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radius [m] | Surface [m2] | Volume [m3] | Mass [kg] | |
| 6.9600·10+08 | 6.0874·10+18 | 1.4123·10+27 | 1.989·10+30 | |
| Temperature | 5776 | K | ||
| Energy produced | 3.8417·10+26 | W | 6.3109·10+07 | W m-2 |
| Average | Perihelion | Aphelion | ||
| Earth orbit | 1.496·10+11 | 1.471·10+11 | 1.521·10+11 | m |
| Solar irradiation | 1366 | 1413 | 1321 | W m-2 |
| The Earth | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Radius [m] | Surface [m2] | Volume [m3] | Mass [kg] |
| 6'371'009 | 5.1007·10+14 | 1.0832·10+21 | 5.97219·10+24 |
| of which water | 361'132'000 | 70.8% | |
| of which land | 148'933'913 | 29.2% | |
| Average air pressure | 98400 | N m-2 | |
| Mass of air | 5.1163·10+18 | kg | |
| 1.75816·10+17 | kmol |
| Materials | Vol % in air | [g mol-1] | Density ρ [kg m-3] standard | Specific heat capacity Cp [kJ kg-1 K-1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gases | |||||
| Nitrogen N2 | 78.08 | 28.01 | 1.1449 | 1.039 | |
| Oxygen O2 | 20.95 | 32.00 | 1.308 | 0.919 | |
| Argon Ar | 0.932 | 39.95 | 1.6328 | 0.521 | |
| Carbon dioxide CO2 | 0.0391 | 44.01 | 1.7989 | 0.843 | |
| Air | 29.10 | 1.275 | 1.005 | ||
| Carbon C | 12.01 | ||||
| Ice | 917 | 211 | at 0 °C | ||
| Water | 18.02 | 1000 | 4183 | at 4 °C | |
| vaporization enthalpy | 2444 | kJ kg-1 | at 288 K | 2257 | at 100 °C |
| fusion enthalpy | 334 | kJ kg-1 |
| Energy Production in 2012 | EJ, exajoule | |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | 1018 J | |
| Oil | 172.4 | 32.7% |
| Gas | 127.0 | 24.1% |
| Coal | 156.6 | 29.7% |
| Nuclear | 23.5 | 4.5% |
| Hydroelectric | 34.8 | 6.6% |
| Biofuels | 2.5 | 0.5% |
| Other Renewables | 9.9 | 1.9% |
| Total World | 526.7 | 100.0% |
| Regions | ||
| OECD | 164.3 | 31.2% |
| Non-OECD | 362.4 | 68.8% |
| European Union | 31.2 | 5.9% |
| Europe | 43.8 | 8.3% |
| Former Soviet Union† | 72.9 | 13.8% |
| USA | 77.6 | 14.7% |
| China | 97.1 | 18.4% |
| India | 14.4 | 2.7% |
| † Excludes states now in the European Union, source: BP |
| Energy content and conversion | 1 GJ | 1 kWh | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joules | 1'000'000'000 | 3'600'000 | J |
| Electricity | 277.8 | 1.00 | kWh |
| British Thermal Unit | 947'818 | 3'412 | BTU |
| Ton of oil equivalent | 0.02388 | 8.60·10-5 | toe |
| Barrel of oil equivalent | 0.1634 | 5.882·10-4 | boe |
| Gasoline | 21.28 | 0.0766 | kg |
| 28.18 | 0.101 | litre | |
| Natural gas | 26.25 | 0.094 | m3 |
| Hydrogen | 78.40 | 0.28 | m3 |
| 7.052 | 0.0254 | kg | |
| Coal (Anthracite) | 37.04 | 0.133 | kg |
| Wood and Wood Waste | 46.08 | 0.166 | kg |
| Enriched Uranium 235 at 3.5% | 0.2894 | 0.00104 | g |
| e = m c2 | 1.111·10-8 | 4.00·10-11 | g |
| Lead-Acid Battery | 6849 | 24.7 | kg |
| Li-Ion Battery | 2174 | 7.83 | kg |
| Water vaporization at 15 °C | 409.2 | 1.47 | kg |
| Water head, ?h=1000 m | 101.9 | 0.37 | m3 |