Energy
|
Description
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Megatons of TNT
|
Watt-hours [Wh]
|
1×10−12
|
1.162 Wh
|
≈ 1 food Calorie (large Calorie, kcal), which is the approximate amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius at a pressure of one atmosphere.
|
1×10−9
|
1.162 kWh
|
Under controlled conditions one kilogram of TNT can destroy (or even obliterate) a small vehicle.
|
4.8×10−9
|
5.6 kWh
|
The energy to burn 1 kilogram of wood.[18]
|
1×10−8
|
11.62 kWh
|
The approximate radiant heat energy released during 3-phase, 600 V, 100 kA arcing fault in a 0.5 m × 0.5 m × 0.5 m (20 in × 20 in × 20 in) compartment within a 1-second period.[further explanation needed][citation needed]
|
1.2×10−8
|
13.94 kWh
|
Amount of TNT used (12 kg) in Coptic church explosion in Cairo, Egypt on December 11, 2016 that left 29 dead and 47 injured[19]
|
1.9×10−6
|
2.90 MWh
|
The television show MythBusters used 2.5 tons of ANFO to make "homemade" diamonds. (Episode 116.)
|
2.4×10−7–2.4×10−6
|
280–2,800 kWh
|
The energy output released by an average lightning discharge.[20]
|
(1–44)×10−6
|
1.16–51.14 MWh
|
Conventional bombs yield from less than one ton to FOAB's 44 tons. The yield of a Tomahawk cruise missile is equivalent to 500 kg of TNT.[21]
|
4.54×10−4
|
581 MWh
|
A real 0.454-kiloton-of-TNT (1.90 TJ) charge at Operation Sailor Hat. If the charge were a full sphere, it would be 1 kiloton of TNT (4.2 TJ). 454 tons of TNT (5 by 10 m (17 by 34 ft)) awaiting detonation at Operation Sailor Hat.
|
1.8×10−3
|
2.088 GWh
|
Estimated yield of the Beirut explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate[22] that killed initially 137 at and near a Lebanese port at 6 p.m. local time Tuesday August 4, 2020.[23] An independent study by experts from the Blast and Impact Research Group at the University of Sheffield predicts the best estimate of the yield of Beirut explosion to be 0.5 kilotons of TNT and the reasonable bound estimate as 1.12 kilotons of TNT.[24]
|
(1–2)×10−3
|
1.16–2.32 GWh
|
Estimated yield of the Oppau explosion that killed more than 500 at a German fertilizer factory in 1921.
|
2.3×10−3
|
2.67 GWh
|
Amount of solar energy falling on 4,000 m2 (1 acre) of land in a year is 9.5 TJ (2,650 MWh) (an average over the Earth's surface).[25]
|
2.9×10−3
|
3.4 GWh
|
The Halifax Explosion in 1917 was the accidental detonation of 200 tons of TNT and 2,300 tons of Picric acid[26]
|
3.2×10−3
|
3.6 GWh
|
The Operation Big Bang on April 18, 1947, blasted the bunkers on Heligoland. It accumulated 6700 metric tons of surplus World War II ammunition placed in various locations around the island and set off. The energy released was 1.3×1013 J, or about 3.2 kilotons of TNT equivalent.[27]
|
4×10−3
|
9.3 GWh
|
Minor Scale, a 1985 United States conventional explosion, using 4,744 tons of ANFO explosive to provide a scaled equivalent airblast of an eight kiloton (33.44 TJ) nuclear device,[28] is believed to be the largest planned detonation of conventional explosives in history.
|
(1.5–2)×10−2
|
17.4–23.2 GWh
|
The Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, exploded with an energy of about 15 kilotons of TNT (63 TJ) killing between 90,000 and 166,000 people,[29] and the Fat Man atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, exploded with an energy of about 20 kilotons of TNT (84 TJ) killing over 60,000.[29] The modern nuclear weapons in the United States arsenal range in yield from 0.3 kt (1.3 TJ) to 1.2 Mt (5.0 PJ) equivalent, for the B83 strategic bomb.
|
>2.4×10−1
|
280 GWh
|
The typical energy yield of severe thunderstorms.[30]
|
1.5×10−5 – 6×10−1
|
20 MWh – 700 GWh
|
The estimated kinetic energy of tornados.[31]
|
1
|
1.16 TWh
|
The energy contained in one megaton of TNT (4.2 PJ) is enough to power the average American household for 103,000 years.[32] The 30 Mt (130 PJ) estimated upper limit blast power of the Tunguska event could power the same average home for more than 3,100,000 years. The energy of that blast could power the entire United States for 3.27 days.[33]
|
8.6
|
10 TWh
|
The energy output that would be released by a typical tropical cyclone in one minute, primarily from water condensation. Winds constitute 0.25% of that energy.[34]
|
16
|
18.6 TWh
|
The approximate radiated surface energy released in a magnitude 8 earthquake.[35]
|
21.5
|
25 TWh
|
The complete conversion of 1 kg of matter into pure energy would yield the theoretical maximum (E = mc2) of 89.8 petajoules, which is equivalent to 21.5 megatons of TNT. No such method of total conversion as combining 500 grams of matter with 500 grams of antimatter has yet been achieved. In the event of proton–antiproton annihilation, approximately 50% of the released energy will escape in the form of neutrinos, which are almost undetectable.[36] Electron–positron annihilation events emit their energy entirely as gamma rays.
|
24
|
28 TWh
|
Approximate total yield of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.[37]
|
26.3
|
30.6 TWh
|
Energy released by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.[38] An animation of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
|
45
|
53 TWh
|
The energy released in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami was over 200,000 times the surface energy and was calculated by the USGS at 1.9×1017 joules,[39][40] slightly less than the 2004 Indian Ocean quake. It was estimated at a moment magnitude of 9.0–9.1. The damage caused by the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami
|
50–56
|
58 TWh
|
The Soviet Union developed a prototype thermonuclear device, nicknamed the Tsar Bomba, which was tested at 50–56 Mt (210–230 PJ), but had a maximum theoretical design yield of 100 Mt (420 PJ).[41] The effective destructive potential of such a weapon varies greatly, depending on such conditions as the altitude at which it is detonated, the characteristics of the target, the terrain, and the physical landscape upon which it is detonated.
|
61
|
70.9 TWh
|
The energy released by the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcanic eruption, in the southern Pacific Ocean, is estimated to have been equivalent to 61 Megatons of TNT.[42]
|
84
|
97.04 TWh
|
The solar irradiance on Earth every second.[b]
|
200
|
230 TWh
|
The total energy released by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia).[43]
|
540
|
630 TWh
|
The total energy produced worldwide by all nuclear testing and combat usage combined, from the 1940s to the present, is about 540 megatons.
|
1,460
|
1.69 PWh
|
The total global nuclear arsenal is about 15,000 nuclear warheads[44][45][46] with a destructive capacity of around 1460 megatons[47][48][49][50] or 1.46 gigatons (1,460 million tons) of TNT. This is the equivalent of 6.11×1018 joules of energy
|
2,680[dubious – discuss]
|
3 PWh
|
The energy yield of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, was estimated at a moment magnitude of 9.4–9.6. This is the most powerful earthquake recorded in history.[51][52] The aftermath of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake.
|
2,870
|
3.34 PWh
|
The energy released by a hurricane per day during condensation.[53]
|
33,000
|
38.53 PWh
|
The total energy released by the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia. Yielded the equivalent of 2.2 million Little Boys (the first atomic bomb to drop on Japan) or one-quarter of the entire world's annual energy consumption.[54] This eruption was 4-10 times more destructive than the 1883 Krakatoa eruption.[55]
|
240,000
|
280 PWh
|
The approximate total yield of the super-eruption of the La Garita Caldera is 10,000 times more powerful than the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption.[56] It was the second most energetic event to have occurred on Earth since the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago. A photo of the La Garita Caldera
|
301,000
|
350 PWh
|
The total solar irradiance energy received by Earth in the upper atmosphere per hour.[c][d]
|
875,000
|
1.02 EWh
|
Approximate yield of the last eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano.[57] Image of the Yellowstone supervolcano.
|
3.61×106
|
4.2 EWh
|
The solar irradiance of the Sun every 12 hours.[c][e]
|
6×106
|
7 EWh
|
The estimated energy at impact when the largest fragment of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 struck Jupiter is equivalent to 6 million megatons (6 trillion tons) of TNT.[58] The impact site of the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
|
7.2×107
|
116 EWh
|
Estimates in 2010 show that the kinetic energy of the Chicxulub impact event yielded 72 teratons of TNT equivalent (1 teraton of TNT equals 106 megatons of TNT) which caused the K-Pg extinction event, wiping out 75% of all species on Earth.[59][60] This is far more destructive than any natural disaster recorded in history. Such an event would've caused global volcanism, earthquakes, megatsunamis, and global climate change.[59][61][62][63][64] The animation of the Chicxulub impact.
|
>2.4×1010
|
>28 ZWh
|
The impact energy of Archean asteroids.[65]
|
9.1×1010
|
106 ZWh
|
The total energy output of the Sun per second.[66]
|
2.4×1011
|
280 ZWh
|
The kinetic energy of the Caloris Planitia impactor.[67] The photo of the Caloris Planitia on Mercury. Taken by the MESSENGER orbiter.
|
5.972×1015
|
6.94 RWh
|
The explosive energy of a quantity of TNT of the mass of Earth.[68]
|
7.89×1015
|
9.17 RWh
|
Total solar output in all directions per day.[69]
|
1.98×1021
|
2.3×1033 Wh
|
The explosive energy of a quantity of TNT of the mass of the Sun.[70]
|
(2.4–4.8)×1028
|
(2.8–5.6)×1040 Wh
|
A type Ia supernova explosion gives off 1–2×1044 joules of energy, which is about 2.4–4.8 hundred billion yottatons (24–48 octillion (2.4–4.8×1028) megatons) of TNT, equivalent to the explosive force of a quantity of TNT over a trillion (1012) times the mass of the planet Earth. This is the astrophysical standard candle used to determine galactic distances.[71]
|
(2.4–4.8)×1030
|
(2.8–5.6)×1042 Wh
|
The largest type of supernova observed, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) release more than 1046 joules of energy.[72]
|
1.3×1032
|
1.5×1044 Wh
|
A merger of two black holes, resulting in the first observation of gravitational waves, released 5.3×1047 joules[73]
|
9.6×1053
|
1.12×1066 Wh
|
Estimated mass-energy of the observable universe.[74]
|