How long does it take a baseball diamond (90 ft on a side) to receive 1 megaton of solar energy?

Neglecting energy absorbed or reflected by Earth’s atmosphere, the solar energy hitting 1 square meter of Earth’s surface is 1360 J/s (the solar constant). How long does it take a baseball diamond (90 ft on a side) to receive 1 megaton of solar energy? (Hint: A 1 megaton bomb produces about 4 1015 J.)

2 thoughts on “How long does it take a baseball diamond (90 ft on a side) to receive 1 megaton of solar energy?”

  1. "A 1 megaton bomb produces about 4 1015 J."

    I don’t know what the space is supposed to mean here. The energy released by the bomb would be many orders of magnitude larger than 41,015 J.

  2. Solar energy is not measured in megatons.

    A megaton is the equivalent effect in a nuclear explosion of one million tons of trinutrotoluene exploding simultaneously in a chemical explosion.

    Explosive force does not measure efficiently in terms of heat or light energy in radiant form as in the case of insolation per unit area.

    Better talk to your teacher. Sounds like some basic instruction in matter, energy, and units of measure is called for.

    Good luck.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.