La culture et les lumières ne sont pas compatibles avec l'analphabétisme scientifique.
Certains faits, constantes physiques et paramètres pertinents sont donnés ici afin de comprendre les dimensions qui sont en jeu.
Un tableur correspondant, contenant aussi des calculs selon la loi de Stefan Boltzmann, peut être téléchargé :
| 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 |