astro: approximately the amount of
sunlight falling on a square metre of the
Earth's surface at noon on a clear day in March for northern temperate
latitudes
9.09 × 102
biomed: peak output power of a healthy human (non-athlete) during a 30-second
cycle sprint at 30.1 degree Celsius.[22]
tech: electric power output of a
CANDU nuclear reactor
9.59 × 108 W
geo: average electrical power consumption of
Zimbabwe in 1998
9.86 × 108 W
astro: approximate solar power received by the dwarf planet
Sedna at its aphelion (937 AU)
The productive capacity of electrical generators operated by utility companies is often measured in MW. Few things can sustain the transfer or consumption of energy on this scale; some of these events or entities include: lightning strikes, naval craft (such as
aircraft carriers and
submarines), engineering hardware, and some scientific research equipment (such as
supercolliders and large
lasers).
For reference, about 10,000 100-watt lightbulbs or 5,000 computer systems would be needed to draw 1 MW. Also, 1 MW is approximately 1360
horsepower. Modern high-power
diesel-electriclocomotives typically have a peak power of 3–5 MW, while a typical modern
nuclear power plant produces on the order of 500–2000 MW peak output.
geo: estimated heat flux transported by the
Gulf Stream.
5 × 1015 W
geo: estimated net heat flux transported from Earth's equator and towards each pole. Value is a latitudinal maximum arising near 40° in each hemisphere.[50][51]
7 × 1015 W
tech: worlds most powerful laser in operation (claimed on February 7, 2019, by
Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) at
Magurele, Romania)[52]
In a keynote presentation, NIF & Photon Science Chief Technology Officer Chris Barty described the "Nexawatt" Laser, an exawatt (1,000-petawatt) laser concept based on NIF technologies, on April 13 at the SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics 2015 Conference in Prague. Barty also gave an invited talk on "Laser-Based Nuclear Photonics" at the SPIE meeting.[58]
astro: luminosity of the entire
Observable universe[86] ≈ 24.6 billion trillion solar luminosity.
1049
3.6 × 1049 W
astro: peak gravitational wave radiative power of
GW150914, the merger event of two distant stellar-mass black holes. It is attributed to the first observation of gravitational waves.[87]
1052
3.63 × 1052 W
phys: the unit of power as expressed under the
Planck units,[note 1] at which the definition of power under modern conceptualizations of physics breaks down. Equivalent to one Planck mass-energy per Planck time.
^Fermi estimate: Mass of observable universe / mass of Milky Way ≈ 1e+12. Number of stars in the Milky Way ≈ 1e+11. Proportion of stars that evolve into a black hole ≈ 1e-3. Hawking radiation power of a 10 Solar mass black hole: ≈ 1e-30 W. 12 + 11 - 3 - 30 = 23 - 30 = –10.
^Maury Tiernan (November 1997).
"The Comfort Zone"(PDF). Geary Pacific Corporation. Archived from
the original(PDF) on December 17, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2008.
^Loeb, Norman G.; Johnson, Gregory C.; Thorsen, Tyler J.; Lyman, John M.; et al. (June 15, 2021). "Satellite and Ocean Data Reveal Marked Increase in Earth's Heating Rate". Geophysical Research Letters. 48 (13).
Bibcode:
2021GeoRL..4893047L.
doi:
10.1029/2021GL093047.
S2CID236233508.
^Filippazzo, Joseph C.; Rice, Emily L.; Faherty, Jacqueline; Cruz, Kelle L.; Van Gordon, Mollie M.; Looper, Dagny L. (September 10, 2015). "Fundamental Parameters and Spectral Energy Distributions of Young and Field Age Objects with Masses Spanning the Stellar to Planetary Regime". The Astrophysical Journal. 810 (2): 158.
arXiv:1508.01767.
Bibcode:
2015ApJ...810..158F.
doi:
10.1088/0004-637X/810/2/158.
ISSN1538-4357.
S2CID89611607.
^Cruzalèbes, P.; Jorissen, A.; Rabbia, Y.; Sacuto, S.; Chiavassa, A.; Pasquato, E.; Plez, B.; Eriksson, K.; Spang, A.; Chesneau, O. (September 1, 2013). "Fundamental parameters of 16 late-type stars derived from their angular diameter measured with VLTI/AMBER". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 434 (1): 437–450.
arXiv:1306.3288.
doi:
10.1093/mnras/stt1037.
ISSN0035-8711.
^Shultz, M. E.; Wade, G. A.; Rivinius, Th; Alecian, E.; Neiner, C.; Petit, V.; Wisniewski, J. P.; MiMeS, the; Collaborations, BinaMIcS (May 11, 2019). "The Magnetic Early B-type Stars II: stellar atmospheric parameters in the era of Gaia". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 485 (2): 1508–1527.
arXiv:1902.02713.
doi:
10.1093/mnras/stz416.
ISSN0035-8711.
^Mehner, A.; de Wit, W.-J.; Asmus, D.; Morris, P. W.; Agliozzo, C.; Barlow, M. J.; Gull, T. R.; Hillier, D. J.; Weigelt, G. (October 2019). "Mid-infrared evolution of eta Car from 1968 to 2018". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 630: L6.
arXiv:1908.09154.
doi:
10.1051/0004-6361/201936277.
ISSN0004-6361.
S2CID202149820.
^Riechers, Dominik A.; Walter, Fabian; Carilli, Christopher L.; Lewis, Geraint F. (2009). "Imaging the Molecular Gas in Az= 3.9 Quasar Host Galaxy at 0."3 Resolution: a Central, Sub-kiloparsec Scale Star Formation Reservoir in Apm 08279+5255". The Astrophysical Journal. 690 (1): 463–485.
arXiv:0809.0754.
Bibcode:
2009ApJ...690..463R.
doi:
10.1088/0004-637X/690/1/463.
ISSN0004-637X.
S2CID13959993.
^Calculated. Estimated assuming Laniakea to be a sphere 160 Mpc in diameter, according to p.4 of cited paper:
Observable universe luminosity × (Laniakea Supercluster diameter / Observable universe diameter)^3 = 9.466e+48 W × (160 Mpc / 28.5 Gpc)^3 = 1.675e+42 ≈ 1.7e+42 W.
^Calculated. Assuming isotropicity in composition and identical age since Big Bang within cosmological horizon, expressed as:
Ordinary [baryonic] mass of observable universe / Ordinary mass of Milky Way × Luminosity of Milky Way.
L_total = 1.5e+53 kg / 4.6e+10 M_sol * 1.5e+10 L_sol = 9.466e+48 W ≈ 9.5e+48 W.
astro: approximately the amount of
sunlight falling on a square metre of the
Earth's surface at noon on a clear day in March for northern temperate
latitudes
9.09 × 102
biomed: peak output power of a healthy human (non-athlete) during a 30-second
cycle sprint at 30.1 degree Celsius.[22]
tech: electric power output of a
CANDU nuclear reactor
9.59 × 108 W
geo: average electrical power consumption of
Zimbabwe in 1998
9.86 × 108 W
astro: approximate solar power received by the dwarf planet
Sedna at its aphelion (937 AU)
The productive capacity of electrical generators operated by utility companies is often measured in MW. Few things can sustain the transfer or consumption of energy on this scale; some of these events or entities include: lightning strikes, naval craft (such as
aircraft carriers and
submarines), engineering hardware, and some scientific research equipment (such as
supercolliders and large
lasers).
For reference, about 10,000 100-watt lightbulbs or 5,000 computer systems would be needed to draw 1 MW. Also, 1 MW is approximately 1360
horsepower. Modern high-power
diesel-electriclocomotives typically have a peak power of 3–5 MW, while a typical modern
nuclear power plant produces on the order of 500–2000 MW peak output.
geo: estimated heat flux transported by the
Gulf Stream.
5 × 1015 W
geo: estimated net heat flux transported from Earth's equator and towards each pole. Value is a latitudinal maximum arising near 40° in each hemisphere.[50][51]
7 × 1015 W
tech: worlds most powerful laser in operation (claimed on February 7, 2019, by
Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) at
Magurele, Romania)[52]
In a keynote presentation, NIF & Photon Science Chief Technology Officer Chris Barty described the "Nexawatt" Laser, an exawatt (1,000-petawatt) laser concept based on NIF technologies, on April 13 at the SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics 2015 Conference in Prague. Barty also gave an invited talk on "Laser-Based Nuclear Photonics" at the SPIE meeting.[58]
astro: luminosity of the entire
Observable universe[86] ≈ 24.6 billion trillion solar luminosity.
1049
3.6 × 1049 W
astro: peak gravitational wave radiative power of
GW150914, the merger event of two distant stellar-mass black holes. It is attributed to the first observation of gravitational waves.[87]
1052
3.63 × 1052 W
phys: the unit of power as expressed under the
Planck units,[note 1] at which the definition of power under modern conceptualizations of physics breaks down. Equivalent to one Planck mass-energy per Planck time.
^Fermi estimate: Mass of observable universe / mass of Milky Way ≈ 1e+12. Number of stars in the Milky Way ≈ 1e+11. Proportion of stars that evolve into a black hole ≈ 1e-3. Hawking radiation power of a 10 Solar mass black hole: ≈ 1e-30 W. 12 + 11 - 3 - 30 = 23 - 30 = –10.
^Maury Tiernan (November 1997).
"The Comfort Zone"(PDF). Geary Pacific Corporation. Archived from
the original(PDF) on December 17, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2008.
^Loeb, Norman G.; Johnson, Gregory C.; Thorsen, Tyler J.; Lyman, John M.; et al. (June 15, 2021). "Satellite and Ocean Data Reveal Marked Increase in Earth's Heating Rate". Geophysical Research Letters. 48 (13).
Bibcode:
2021GeoRL..4893047L.
doi:
10.1029/2021GL093047.
S2CID236233508.
^Filippazzo, Joseph C.; Rice, Emily L.; Faherty, Jacqueline; Cruz, Kelle L.; Van Gordon, Mollie M.; Looper, Dagny L. (September 10, 2015). "Fundamental Parameters and Spectral Energy Distributions of Young and Field Age Objects with Masses Spanning the Stellar to Planetary Regime". The Astrophysical Journal. 810 (2): 158.
arXiv:1508.01767.
Bibcode:
2015ApJ...810..158F.
doi:
10.1088/0004-637X/810/2/158.
ISSN1538-4357.
S2CID89611607.
^Cruzalèbes, P.; Jorissen, A.; Rabbia, Y.; Sacuto, S.; Chiavassa, A.; Pasquato, E.; Plez, B.; Eriksson, K.; Spang, A.; Chesneau, O. (September 1, 2013). "Fundamental parameters of 16 late-type stars derived from their angular diameter measured with VLTI/AMBER". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 434 (1): 437–450.
arXiv:1306.3288.
doi:
10.1093/mnras/stt1037.
ISSN0035-8711.
^Shultz, M. E.; Wade, G. A.; Rivinius, Th; Alecian, E.; Neiner, C.; Petit, V.; Wisniewski, J. P.; MiMeS, the; Collaborations, BinaMIcS (May 11, 2019). "The Magnetic Early B-type Stars II: stellar atmospheric parameters in the era of Gaia". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 485 (2): 1508–1527.
arXiv:1902.02713.
doi:
10.1093/mnras/stz416.
ISSN0035-8711.
^Mehner, A.; de Wit, W.-J.; Asmus, D.; Morris, P. W.; Agliozzo, C.; Barlow, M. J.; Gull, T. R.; Hillier, D. J.; Weigelt, G. (October 2019). "Mid-infrared evolution of eta Car from 1968 to 2018". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 630: L6.
arXiv:1908.09154.
doi:
10.1051/0004-6361/201936277.
ISSN0004-6361.
S2CID202149820.
^Riechers, Dominik A.; Walter, Fabian; Carilli, Christopher L.; Lewis, Geraint F. (2009). "Imaging the Molecular Gas in Az= 3.9 Quasar Host Galaxy at 0."3 Resolution: a Central, Sub-kiloparsec Scale Star Formation Reservoir in Apm 08279+5255". The Astrophysical Journal. 690 (1): 463–485.
arXiv:0809.0754.
Bibcode:
2009ApJ...690..463R.
doi:
10.1088/0004-637X/690/1/463.
ISSN0004-637X.
S2CID13959993.
^Calculated. Estimated assuming Laniakea to be a sphere 160 Mpc in diameter, according to p.4 of cited paper:
Observable universe luminosity × (Laniakea Supercluster diameter / Observable universe diameter)^3 = 9.466e+48 W × (160 Mpc / 28.5 Gpc)^3 = 1.675e+42 ≈ 1.7e+42 W.
^Calculated. Assuming isotropicity in composition and identical age since Big Bang within cosmological horizon, expressed as:
Ordinary [baryonic] mass of observable universe / Ordinary mass of Milky Way × Luminosity of Milky Way.
L_total = 1.5e+53 kg / 4.6e+10 M_sol * 1.5e+10 L_sol = 9.466e+48 W ≈ 9.5e+48 W.